


Lies and deceit

by angelcarstairs4679



Series: Random Haikyuu aus [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-03-17 20:45:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 29,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18972631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelcarstairs4679/pseuds/angelcarstairs4679
Summary: Just as Kageyama is standing on the world stage, a fake video spreads on the internet accusing him of doping. With his future on the line, will he be able to trust in the ones closest to him or is he going to risk losing the thing he loves the most : volleyball?





	1. Chapter 1

**I was watching Mr Hiiragi's classroom and that had to be one of the best dramas I've ever come across as it talks about just how dangerous social media can be and one slip up and lead to a person dying.**

**That being said, the character that had been framed for doping was named Kageyama Reina and I thought, since Kageyama wasn't exactly the most likable person around anyways, what would happen if he was framed in the same manner and how he would cope with it.**

**Going to post it on my profile on Fanfiction.net as well so watch out for it if you use that website.**

**I don't own the characters except for the OC.**

 

“Kageyama?”

 

My words barely seemed to penetrate his mind as he sat at the side of the court, his eyes trained to the game ahead of him. But I knew that his mind was somewhere else other than on volleyball for once.

 

“It wasn’t me. Why doesn’t anyone want to believe me?”

 

“Tsukishima, Hinata and Yamaguchi believe you, Kageyama! You just need to believe that this is all a bad joke.”

 

“I got a call from the Japan Volleyball Youth Association this morning. They want an explanation for the video.”

 

My heart dropped as I tried to think of a way to console him but I didn’t know how. I was just the manager of the volleyball club, always in the shadow of Yachi since she knew the ins and outs of the volleyball team better than I ever did since I joined the team as a manager for such a stupid and selfish reason.

 

I had a crush on Kageyama ever since we were in middle school and when I found out we were going to Karasuno together, I thought that finally I might be able to get to know him better since he didn’t talk much when we were in junior high. I even tried to play volleyball to get a feel of the sport he loved so much but I just couldn’t bring myself to love it.

 

How could he love the pressure on the court that is cooking you inside out and the fear of letting down your team who worked so hard and for so much longer only to lose in a game because you couldn’t receive a ball?

 

Then Yachi asked me if I wanted to be a manager after I quite the girls volleyball team since they were getting much more members after their victory in nationals in our first year and I jumped straight into the opportunity. The only thing on my mind was that I was now closer to Kageyama and that I had a chance to know him more.

 

But that wasn’t the case since he had been selected to be on the under-19 Japan Volleyball team at the end of our second year and had to go for team practice in Tokyo every alternate week and we began to see him less and less. I was happy for him and didn’t want to bother him as he pursued his dream, thinking that even if he didn’t feel anything for me, the least I could do was stand behind him and support him from the shadows.

 

That was until early in our third year a month and a few weeks before interhigh when the video went viral online.

 

“Oi Kageyama! Whats going on here?” Hinata demanded as he came over, his phone in hand as some of the juniors stood far away from Kageyama, who looked ready to explode. Despite his status as a national player, Kageyama still had a ways to go in social interactions.

 

“They said you took doping which is utter bullshit but why aren’t you saying anything? Geez, this is so stupid! The hell your insane setting skills is from doping, who would be stupid enough to believe it?” Hinata muttered as Yamaguchi came over, who was now the captain of the team.

 

“Come on, let’s start practice. We can talk over this later after we finished practice.”  
  


That was the first time Kageyama’s setting had been so erratic and out of focus to the point Ukai told him to sit out for the rest of the game. He didn’t even protest as he sat on the bench, staring at the others playing. He didn’t even flinch when the ball nearly hit his face several times, just giving death glares before the whistle blew.

 

“Alright, third year meeting, now. The rest of you guys can head back. We’ll clear up after this,” Ukai barked as the juniors bowed before running out of the gym.

 

“Hey why do we have to do cleanup? Sheesh I want to go spike with Kageyama now,” Hinata groaned as Tsukishima grunted, “You really need to learn how to read the atmosphere you moron.”

 

“Shut it beanpole,” Hinata growled as Yachi stood in between them.

 

“Both of you, stop it!” she snapped as Hinata silently nodded as his girlfriend. They had been dating for about a few months she since confessed to him and even though Hinata didn’t seem like boyfriend material since he only had volleyballs for brains, he seemed to be doing a good job.

 

Not to mention Yachi had become a lot more fierce since she had to shoulder the weight of managing a bunch of crazy crows.

 

“Alright! Let’s get to the point. Kageyama, did you use doping?” Ukai snapped as Hinata opened his mouth to argue when Yamaguchi clamped a hand on his shoulder to shake his head.

 

Ukai brought out his phone and pressed the play button. The video showed Kageyama in the locker room alone, his locker open as he took some pills and swallowed them before heading out and closing the door. The cameraman walked to his locker and opened it, rummaging through the contents of his bag to show a bottle with a label that every athelete never wanted to be caught having.

 

“This was taken in the Tokyo Youth Gym where you train for the Youth Team and was posted sometime last night. I presume you were being fired about it left and right since you came to school?”

 

Kageyama didn’t answer as his eyes fell on the floor. To be caught doping is to lose your entire career as an athelete forever and he was just beginning to climb the volleyball ladder.

Not to mention Hinata was by his side as well on the team, both of them now on the national stage ready to take on the world.

 

“That’s bullshit! I was with Kageyama and he never ever took doping! He had to be taking vitamins or something right?” Hinata snapped as Tsukishima sighed, “It clearly says that he used doping.”

 

“They could have edited it or something!”

 

“Well if you can figure that out in a few days since your higher ups are probably going to come and demand an explanation or they might just kick him off the team altogether.”

 

“Stop jumping to conclusions, megane! Kageyama would never…”

 

“Alright, that’s enough!” Yamaguchi snapped, breathing hard as he turned to Kageyama, who stood apart from the crowd.

 

“Do you trust me?” he murmured as Hinata shook him by the shoulders.

 

“Bakayama! Of course we trust you, you’re our teammate!”

 

“Then if you trust me, why the hell are you treating me like criminal here! You didn’t even say anything when you saw what happened in class!”

 

Kageyama had been hearing insults the entire day now and I wondered how long it would be before he snapped. There was nothing Hinata and the others could do since they were in different classes.

 

“We’ll get to the bottom of this and we’ll make sure that your name is cleared of this. Until then, just don’t retaliate. If you do anything physical or take it out on anyone else, they would be even more suspicious. Alright, dismissed!”

 

As we all bowed before making our way out, Kageyama stopped in front of me, his hair covering his eyes as I gulped.

 

“Kageyama, we’ll fix this, I promise,” I whispered as he looked at me, his blue eyes so dark they could be black. He merely nodded and went to get a mop, all the energy gone from him.

 

That night, I opened social media to see Kageyama being dragged through the dirt with the amount of insults not just from studens from our school but also from other schools across Japan and even some adults. I wanted to scream at them and tell them how wrong they were to even suspect Kageyama of doping when I noticed one thing.

 

Aoba Johsai, Fukurodani and Nekoma stood by our side in this argument, with Bokuto-san and Kuroo-san giving pretty nasty comebacks to those who dared write bad about Kageyama.

“Hey hey hey. If you ever so dare to try to talk bulllshit about Kageyama one more time, I swear I’ll trash you guys not only on the court but off it,” Bokuto wrote.

 

“You want to go to prison, stupid owl? You’re on a sport scholarship you know,” Kuroo purred as Bokuto snapped, “I can’t let this stupid shit slide! You know how everything ends the moment you’re even suspected of doping!”

 

“Well as long as Kageyama shows them his innocent, he’s cool.”

 

I felt grateful for the fact that Kageyama had people backing him up both here and everywhere else when I picked up my phone and pressed his number to send a message.

 

Why was I messaging him? He didn’t even like me, I don’t think he even paid attention to who else was there except for his main ring of third years and Yachi.

 

“Kageyama, I believe in you.”

 

As I hit send, I thought at just how lame it sounded and the fact he hardly ever checked his mail anyway when a message notification came through, my hand moving to snatch the phone to see two words on the screen.

 

“Thanks, Oikawa-san.”

**I'll leave you guys to figure out who the OC might be hehe.**

**All comments are welcomed and appreciated!**  


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for being gone for so long! Hope this chapter can redeem this story as I try to get it back on track!**

**I don't own the characters except for the OC.**

 

If Kageyama looked like he was about to usher in the end of the world, he looked even more thunderous than he ever did before the doping incident took place.

 

Wherever he went in school, he was greeted with stares and sometimes even jeers from people from other sports clubs. Some of them went as far as to push him into the dirt in the back of the school during lunch time, spitting that he wasn’t worthy to be a national player or even be in the under 19s team.

 

My heart ached whenever I saw that but whenever I tried to go and help him, I felt myself freeze up, my heart pounding in fear of not being able to help him and getting hit instead. I had tried my best to stand up for Kageyama in class but it was doing him little good since with his doom and gloom attitude, people had always been a bit suspicious or even scared of him.

 

A week after the video was released, Kageyama was banned from taking part in the under 19s training sessions in Tokyo until the case was solved, which dealt a blow to him harder than anything ever had. It was like someone had taken his heart out and was slowly crushing it. Or rather had crushed it already, living him like a walking corpse with no purpose to live.

 

“Kageyama-kun, you want to have lunch together?” I asked as Kageyama slowly lifted his head from the desk, his eyes rimmed with black eye bags as he slowly nodded. Hinata stood outside, trying his best not to bite back at people who were bad mouthing Kageyama as he got up and walked with me and Hinata to the back of the school where Yachi was waiting, her bento in hand along with a bento she had made for Hinata.

 

“Shouyou! Kageyama-kun! Oikawa-san!” she waved us over as we sat down, opening our lunches to eat. I turned to see Kageyama had yet to eat anything, let alone bring anything with him as he stared at the unopened milk packaging in his hand, his fist tightening around is as he heard a few whispers in the wind from people walking upstairs.

 

“Kageyama, it won’t do you any good if you hit someone in the face. It would just rile them up even more and get you into trouble with the school. You’re already on most people’s watch so you better lay low and not cause too much trouble,” Yachi said as she popped an octopus shaped sausage into her mouth. Hinata was too busy eating his food to notice what his girlfriend had said as he commented through a stuffed mouth that the food was amazing.

 

“Kageyama, please, eat this. I have some extras made in case,” I said as I handed him a boxed lunch, the heat rising in my face as he stared at it for a full minute before slowly taking it and thanking for the food. His face was impassive as he bit into the food, Hinata flaring up as he snapped.

 

“Oi Kageyama. Oikawa-san made such a cute bento for you so be sure to thank her for it!”

 

“Thank you for the food,” Kageyama grunted as he popped the rolled egg into his mouth, his expression lifting ever so slightly as I shuffled in my seat, trying to think of how he would be able to feel happier.

 

When I told my cousin, Tooru about what happened, although with him being in one of the top volleyball university teams in the country and on his way to be on the national team, these news didn’t skip out on him as easily. To my surprise, he was actually concerned for him considering how badly he had treated Kageyama back in Kitagawa Daiichi. I recalled a time when he had almost hit Kageyama back in junior high, a sneer on his face as I confronted him in the locker room where poor Iwaizumi had to deal with two cousins fighting it out with one another. 

 

_“Don’t you dare hurt him! I swear I won’t stop slapping you if you did!” I shrieked as Tooru stared at the red palm print on his face. He looked shocked for a moment, Iwaizumi too stunned to even react as Tooru looked at me dead in the eye, the deadly look he used on the court to tear down his opponents in his eyes as he said._

_“Tell me, you think you can actually be with that genius? Don’t you have more things to worry about other than love a boy who can’t even handle his own feelings, let alone have volleyball for brains?”_

_“I….”_

_“Don’t tell me you like him just because he’s such a good player. There are other good players around like say… me,” he winked as I threw my school bag in his face, Iwaizumi stifling a grin as Oikawa yelled._

_“Hey, my beautiful face!”_

_“Shut up, you trash can. I can’t even imagine why the hell people would even like you when you’re such a douchebag.”_

_“Iwa-chan! Help me! She’s so mean!”_

_“You deserve it, Shittykawa,” he sighed as Tooru clung onto him, moaning about his younger cousin beating the crap out of him as he tried to pull him off. After that day, he hadn’t lay a finger on Kageyama but as time went by and he graduated, me and Kageyama moving up in our teams, I could feel the distance in Kageyama with his teammates, a rift opening to the point it can never be healed._

_When I heard him yell the words that struck me hard, I could almost imagine the floor tearing beneath us as it sucked him in, his body slowly tumbling into the abyss as he lost his place on the court._

“Faster!”

 

“Run more!”

 

“Don’t let the ball fall!”  
  


“Move quicker!”

 

“More!”

 

“More!”

 

“More!”

 

_With each words, he nailed another nail into the coffin until he was benched, losing his chance to play in nationals when they lost to Shiratorizawa Junior High. He had distanced himself from the team afterwards, even going to the extent of distancing himself from the rest of the class, which he hadn’t paid much attention to to begin with. I didn’t have the right to say much even though we had been in the same class since we hardly even spoke to one another but I yearned to put a hand on him to comfort him, just to tell him everything would be alright._

I thought my arrival in Karasuno would be my redeeming point since both of us failed to get into Shiratorizawa on sports scholarships and landed in the school for Fallen Crows. But looking back, even if I had been good enough to get into Shiratorizawa, I wouldn’t have been good enough to play on the team even as a reserve, just cheering from the sidelines.

 

Even though I have quit the girls team to help the boys, I have never felt closer to the court, watching as the guys grew and matured into full fledged crows that dominated even the national stage.

 

“Oikawa-san! Are you listening? Oi,” Hinata blurted as I snapped out of my thoughts, my bento sliding hapzadly to the side as its contents were on the verge of spilling out. I shrieked as I quickly put it right again, Hinata and Yachi looking concerned when I turned to see that Kageyama was gone, in his place being the empty bento I had given him.

 

“He said he was going to set some balls at the back of the school and didn’t want to be followed. I swear, one day, I will make those idiots pay for speaking shit about him,” Hinata snarled as Yachi tried to calm him down when I stood up, slamming my forgotten lunch onto the floor as I ran to the back of the school, the familiar sound of Kageyama tossing the ball in the air hitting me.

 

The gentle touch of his fingers on the ball. The slight whooshing sound of the ball soaring through the air. The tap of the fingers on the ball as it was pushed against gravity.

 

“Oh, if it isn’t Mr Doping- senpai. How lame for you to be all the way at the top only to be dragged down by a stupid video. If you were going to dope, why don’t you be a bit more discrete?” a voice sneered as I saw a group of second years crowding around him, my mind going to remember them as being from the basketball team. We had have a few arguments over usage of the court for a few years now that we’ve been given priority over them to use it given our status as a national level team and now with the doping incident, it looked like it had finally given enough juice to spark a full blown fire in them.

 

“Now senpai, why don’t you scurry into your hole and never show your face again? I know you may be the star of the team, the ace even, but even Shrimpy-senpai is better than you that he doesn’t take doping and still has wicked skills.”  
  


“I always thought you were a monster but you know what? You’re just a fake. A dupe!”

 

“Now give us back the gym so we can actually practice and not use drugs!”

 

The ball dropped onto the ground as one of the boys slammed a fist into Kageyama’s gut, spit flying from his mouth as he groaned, stumbling on his feet but still remaining upwards as the basketball team snarled.

 

“Leave him alone!” I screamed as I rushed forward, the boys already circling him as I grabbed the volleyball that had fallen near my feet and raised it into the air. I still remembered the curve of my back as I rose into the air, bending back with my arm behind my back to whip it forward, slamming it into one of the boys as he yelled.

 

“What the hell?!” he snapped as he turned to face me, a look in my eyes that has always been told to me by Hinata that reminded him of my cousin’s eyes when he was ready to tear people to pieces on the court.

 

“If you want more of where that came from, you’re welcomed to hit either of us,” I snapped as the boys scattered, leaving Kageyama to lean against the wall as I helped him steady himself.

 

“Kageyama,” I said as I tried to refrain myself from saying those words.

 

Are you alright? Of course he wasn’t alright! His world was falling apart and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

 

“Don’t get yourself hurt. I’m not worth getting hurt for,” he whispered as he shook my hold off him, walking back to the main school building just as the bell rang.

 

How am I going to help him without giving off the vibe I was actually in love with him in such a crisis?!


	3. Chapter 3

**This idea came to mind and I just can't stop and not write about it so here it is.**

**I don't own the characters except for the OC.**

 

“Wait wait, what?!” I shrieked into the phone as Moija, my pet Pomeranian bounced on the bed, squeaking as I put the phone on speaker mode as Yachi stammered.

 

“Ah, as you can see, the situation is a little bit dire and we don’t know what to do about it.”  
  


“That doesn’t mean you have to make such a drastic measure!!!” I shrieked as I rewinded what had been said to be five minutes ago.

 

_Rewind…_

_“Hello,” I murmured as I stepped out of the bath, toweling my wet hair as I wore an oversized alien shirt I had forgotten to return to Tooru years ago when I had a sleepover at his place when we were watching Alien Vs Predator. I swear that guy was more of a pussy than I thought when it came to blood and gore. I thought the CGI for the alien coming out of the humans was fantastic._

_“Oikawa-san! I have been trying to call you for a while. I don’t know if Hinata has tried calling you.”_

_“Uhuh. Huh?! Five calls since I went into the bathroom?!” I shrieked as I scrolled down my calls list to see Hinata’s name appearing five times in a row until Yachi had decided to take the lead in calling another five times._

_“We have a bit of a situation. Well, not a bit, but a massive one. Kageyama was kicked out of his house this morning.”_

_“What?!” I snapped as my towel dropped onto the ground, my hair still dripping water onto my clothes as I sat on the bed, Moija moving to jump on my lap and lik some excess water as Yachi sighed._

_“Kageyama’s father is a bit… stricter than he would like. He owns a famous volleyball equipment manufacturing company and is normally away from home while Kageyama’s mother is the editor of a local sports magazine. Ever since the scandal with Kageyama being framed for doping, his parents have been harassed a lot by the media and their colleagues to the extent his mother nearly went mad. His father threw him out of the house for the timebeing, telling him to sort things out or he wouldn’t be coming home in a good while. The good news is that technically, he hasn’t been disowned but the bad thing is, he’s basically homeless.”_

_“How the hell can they do that to their own child?” I growled as I patted Moija on the head, the tiny ball whimpering as I pressed down a little too hard on him._

_“Hinata has offered to let him stay over but considering how tight his house is with his two siblings and his family being in a bit of a financial pinch, we’ve decided to take turns rotating him around our houses if that’s ok. Although Tsukishima was a little miffed about it but he says he wouldn’t mind hosting him once a week provided he uses the couch. Which comes to the plan we currently have to help Kageyama._

_I didn’t like the sound of this but I let her go on._

_“We’ll be hosting Kageyama at our homes for one to two days at a time. I understand your parents are normally away during the weekends so if its ok, can you host him for the first two days, starting today? He was already in a pinch about finding it and the first thing that came to my mind was you.”_

_“But… but.. you know how I feel about him and everything!!!” I squeaked as Moija looked up at me as though being able to comprehend what his owner was thinking at the moment._

_A boy in my house? Kageyama of all people?! Holy shit, is this a dream?!_   
  


_No.. no… this is not a dream._

_This is reality._

_“Oh shit… I would be happy to host him but if things get a little… arghhh, what am I saying?!” I yelled as Yachi tried to calm me down when I heard a knock on the door._

_“That would be him,” Yachi said as I screamed and we return to the present._

“Good luck,” she grinned as she ended the call, my soul ready to fly to heaven as I peeped through the peephole, Kageyama standing outside, looking sheepish in his Karasuno jacket and shorts despite the wind outside. I debated on checking if my hair was ok before throwing the door open for him, the cold wind making me shiver with my wet hair as Kageyama muttered, “Sorry for the intrusion.”

 

“Don’t mind. Don’t mind. Come on in,” I said as I stepped aside to let him walked in. He had a rucksack on his back along with his schoolbag, his eyes still rimmed with signs of lack of sleep as he took off his shoes, slipping on the indoor shoes I had left for him as he walked into the house, my heart beating so hard I thought I might have a heart attack when Moija came running down the stairs from my room, yelping as Kageyama nearly shrieked as the tiny dog flew into his face.

 

“Moija! Don’t!” I shrieked as I tried to tug him off Kageyama, the little thing refusing to release its claws from Kageyama’s shirt as he yipped, Kageyama turning a little red from having freaked out over the tiny creature balling into him as I tried to keep the tiny creature from squirming out of my arms and flying into his face.

 

“My parents are away for the weekend so I will sleep in their room while you sleep in my room.”

 

“Are you sure? We can sleep in the same room.”

 

Kageyama! Don’t you know that a guy and girl shouldn’t sleep in the same room? Woah woah woah! Was he implying him sleeping on the floor and me on the bed or both of us on the bed?!  
  


“Nonononono! I’ll sleep in my parents room. Don’t worry,” I stammered as he raised an eyebrow before going upstairs without waiting for me to say anything, my face beat red as I tried to contain my feelings. I hoped my parents wouldn’t mind him staying over and the fact I let him sleep in my room.

 

Wait a minute, wouldn’t that mean he would be sleeping in my bed?!  
  


“Yachi, are you trying to kill me?!” I shrieked in my mind as I heard Kageyama calling me from upstairs.

 

“Oikawa-san. Is it ok for me to use the bathroom? I haven’t showered yet!” he called as I shouted an ok for him when I mind went to how I have just showered there and my smell most probably lingered behind and now…

 

“Holy shit!!! Why is this happening to me?!” I shrieked as I lay on the couch only to pass out from the lack of brain cells left and energy draining from me from the excitement of having my crush in my house.

 

…

 

When I came to, I was surprised to smell something wafting in the kitchen. When I entered the kitchen, I was hit with the pleasant smell of fried rice and egg, indicating omurice being cooked as Kageyama turned to face me, the spatula in his hand with the other hand clutched over the wok.

 

“Uh, I thought you might be hungry. I didn’t want to… to..” he stammered as he nearly dropped the wok onto the floor as he turned to face me. I narrowly managed to steady his hand before it crashed to the ground, my hand curling over his as I quickly snatched it, the heat rising from my face as I quickly excused myself to make some drinks for us.

 

It turned out that he was a pretty good cook, the omurice tasting as good as a restaurants as I dug into it, Moija trying to get some food from us as I patted him on the head, promising to give him some food afterwards as Kageyama stood up and bowed so low his head nearly slammed into his food.

 

“Thank you for letting me stay here. I know I must be a nuisance for being in this situation and what this must cause for you and the club, the team and everyone involved. I am so sorry for what happened but I promise you I’m innocent and I will find some way to clear my name.”

 

The gratefulness on his face nearly melted my heart as I watched him bow low. Kageyama had never been one to speak much but this… this was his feelings poured out to me without any restraints, the pure innocence in his words reminding me of how I had first met him when we were in first year at Kitagawa Daiichi when he introduced himself to the class.

 

_“I’m Kageyama Tobio and I want to be on the Ja… ja… Japan National Volleyball Team!” he stammered as he tried to say Japan in English, leading to most of the class laughing as he sat back down, looking flustered at it and being red as a tomato even as the rest of the class finished their introductions._

_After class had ended, some of the girls had tried to ask him for his number, all of them getting rejected as he ran for club activities, me following close by since I was part of the girls volleyball team as well. As both of us stood at the entrances of our respective gyms, I could almost see his face shining when he was greeted by the sight of volleyballs slapping the smooth surface of the court, the smell of Salonpas and the sound of squeaking volleyball shoes._

_Most of all, the sounds of players on the court hit both of us like a wave as people shouted familiar orders._

_“Left! Left!”_

_“Block!”_

_“Spike that!”_

_“Alright!”_

_“Here!”_   
  


_All those pulled him into the court like a fish drawn to water, his eyes never taking off the court as he walked in, Tooru calling out the new members to introduce themselves as I got called into my own gym._

Never will I allow this innocent child to be ruined by this cruel world. He only had one thing going for him and that he truly loved.

 

And I will never let that be taken away from him.

 

“Look forward to working with you, Kageyama-kun,” I smiled as he sat back down, both of us lapsing into awkward silence as we dug into the lunch Kageyama had made.


	4. Chapter 4

**Just to make things clear because I left this story for a few months and have basically forgot what the hell happened, I decided to make it in a way that she used to play volleyball but got fedup of not being able to play good games with her team so she swapped to the mens team. Also so she could be closer to Kageyama whom she has an epic crush on for about five years hehe. Hope that clears it up!**

**I don't own the characters except for the OC.**

 

Why is it when I have nothing to discuss about with Kageyama, the first thing I had to do was ask him if he did any homework? That’s lame 101 in my list of things to talk to the guy I liked when he was facing a major crisis.

 

Still, at least I didn’t ask him anything about volleyball since that could mean triggering something that wouldn’t necessarily lead to an outcome I would particularly want to see; like for instance, his soulless body during the time we had to go for a training camp with the Fukurodani group in Tokyo and he and Hinata had failed their exams. That led to them arriving one day later after barely surviving the trip from hell with Saeko-neesan, Tanaka-senpai’s older sister.

 

Speaking of which, I wondered if she had finally got together with Akiteru after her split with the little Giant? I always thought they were a pretty cute match together.

 

“So, how is your homework coming along?” I asked as we sat at the dining table. I only had a desk in my room and I didn’t think Kageyama would appreciate having to sit with his legs crossed for a long period of time trying to study English as he scratched his head with the tip of his pen.

 

“Why do we have to learn English? We’re Japanese,” he growled as he looked close to ripping his book in half. I could understand that but since I enjoyed English as it allowed me to watch English films without subtitles, I couldn’t exactly tell him that since he would probably get a little pissed.

 

We sat at the table trying to do work for an entire hour before Kageyama decided it was time to pass out on the table, drooling on his notebook as he snored. Before long I gave up on doing work as well and opted to just sit across, patting Moija’s head as I watched him sleep like a creep. Moija squeaked as I gave him a tight little squeeze as I tried to control my thundering heart, trying my best to stop thinking of stupid things when I saw the volleyball rolled in the corner of the house, a thought coming to mind as I gently poked Kageyama’s arm to wake him up.

 

Slowly he yawned, stretching before rubbing his eyes, looking a little woozy from sleeping as I held the volleyball in front of him, a grin to my face as I said, “I could use a setter right now. Been a while since I had spiked anything.”

 

True. The last time I had spiked a ball was when I was in second year before I quit the club. I had grown tired of not being able to be with a team that actually gave a shit about the sport when I threw so much effort into it. Whenever I watched the boys play I could feel the intensity of their spirit into the game, never stopping to let the ball fall onto the ground, snatching it up with everything they got.

 

When I became the manager of the team, Tooru had teased me if it was because of me wanting to get closer to Kageyama and yes, while that had been the truth, partially I just wanted to see what volleyball was all about once more. Being a spiker when someone sets the ball to you half heartedly or if there was no other choice since the others weren’t pulling their weight, it was the most heartbreaking thing in the world.

 

The wind was a little chilly in the air as I pulled on a jacket and jogged to the backyard. We had a patch in the backyard where my parents had set up for me to practice spiking and for Tooru and Iwaizumi to play volleyball when we were younger since Tooru often broke things when he spiked too hard back at his house. Iwaizumi had been the one to suggest if we could use my backyard since it was spacious and with the high wall going around it, the only place that could possibly be hit was the kitchen and my bedroom window.

 

I pulled the net from the shed, Kageyama helping me to roll it out as we hung it onto the poles and raised it up. The netting was frail and looked ready to fall apart if the wind blew too hard since its been years since I used it but Kageyama looked ready to set as he ever would be, his eyes shining as they always did whenever he stepped onto the court. His dark blue eyes shone like someone had just told him he had gone to volleyball heaven and could set all he want, never needing to do anything else for the rest of his life.

 

“Alright, let’s do this,” I grinned as I tossed the ball to him. Whenever I was on the court, I felt my shyness towards him slip away as we were both players on the court, ready to serve each other when we need help. I always had a mischievous streak on the court, sometimes even going so far to give him a high five or something close to a hug, although Hinata would normally be the one barreling into me for a hug along with Yamaguchi, much to Yachi’s disdain and Kageyama looking thoroughly lost as we hugged.

 

Kageyama spun the ball in his hands, the sound of the ball spinning against his palms cutting through the breeze as he tossed it into the air, the ball spinning as it hit my palm with such accuracy I wondered how Hinata could deal with it as I slammed it onto the other side. The sting in my palm, the ringing in my ears of the ball hitting the ground, it sent me back into the dizziness spell I always had whenever I had when I was on the court, drowning in the cheers and yells of the spectators as everyone clapped and cheered.

 

How I missed being on the court.

 

But I rather be with the guys now serving them from the sidelines than be with a bunch of people who dragged me through the dirt by not pulling their weight in it. After the female captain had left, the team had crumbled to a point it would never be able to pick itself. The team had lost their ace and there was no one to pick them back up, even if we tried, we would never be the top ever again.

 

“Oikawa-san?” Kageyama asked as he stood on the other side of the court, his eyes staring at me with concern as he held the ball in his hands, my fingers going to my face as I touched my face which was now wet with tears.

 

Shit, why did I allow my feelings to take control so easily?

 

“One more,” I smiled as he gave me the smile I always wished he would shoot at me, the smile that sent chills and warmth at the same time through my body as he tossed the ball into the air, his arm bent back as he whipped it forward for me to receive it, the ball going over as he grinned, rising to meet it when I heard an all too familiar yell coming from outside.

 

“Oi, Mikasa! My mum asked me to pass you this since I was on the way back from university. Don’t mind the intrusion!” Tooru called as my blood froze, my mind going to what the hell he would be thinking of finding Kageyama here in my house as I heard Kageyama yell when something slammed into my head. There was the sound of footsteps rushing towards me as someone grabbed me, steadying me as I looked up to see the familiar chocolate brown hair and eyes of my cousin who didn’t take long to glare at his rival on the court.

 

“Now then, Tobio-chan. Care to explain what you’re doing in my beloved cousin’s house and having just spiked a ball in her face?!”

 

…

 

“Why does this feel like a father meeting the boyfriend meeting?” I groaned as Tooru sat across from Kageyama, who looked like a little puppy who had been left out to fend for himself in the big wide world, his eyes trained on the table as his senior wiggled his eyebrows at me.

 

“I get it you’re out of a home and have nowhere to go but that doesn’t mean you should take advantage of my cousin, who is a girl mind you, and stay at her place!”  
  


“Tooru, its fine! I’m the one who agreed to letting him stay here! My parents are away for the timebeing and this shouldn’t take too long to resolve.”

 

To be fair, its been almost two weeks since this fiasco started and there were no signs of being resolved anytime soon. With the interhigh being in a little more than a month away, we needed to solve this or the team would be in deep shit for morale.

 

“No way I’m letting this guy stay with you. For all I know, he could do something to you!”

 

“Don’t make it sound like he will do something stupid!”

 

“What about you? Don’t tell me you still haven’t forgotten about it?” Tooru grinned as I unleashed Moija into his face, the tiny furball yipping as Tooru got bitten on the nose, howling as Kagayema looked confused at to what was going on as I tried to hide the flush in my face. Tooru knew full well that I still liked him and this was not the best time to be letting out a confession on a crush that had been going on for nearly four years now!

 

After shoving Kageyama into my room under the pretense I had something to talk with Tooru, I hauled him by the ear to the porch as I finally released him, his ear most probably throbbing and numb from having held it there for a good five minutes as he groaned.

 

“Mean,” he pouted as I raised a fist, a signature move from Iwaizumi I had picked up over the years that had instantly put the guy in his place as he raised his hands in defeat.

 

“Fine. Have it your way. Don’t come finding me when you find that he doesn’t know squat about love or doing the deed.”

 

“Shut it! I won’t do that with him!” I shrieked as Tooru laughed, placing a hand on my head as he gave it a rub before smirking.

 

“If you ever so much try to do something, you know I can always tell your parents about it. But for now,” his eyes turned serious as he continued, “make sure he gets back on his feet. After making it this far in the sport, I won’t stand to hear that my precious kohai quit volleyball because of a stupid misunderstanding from a video.”

 

“You don’t think he did it?”

 

“Kageyama doesn’t even know what the chemical composition of water is. You don’t expect him to be able to take doping without knowing what it can do to him right?” Tooru snorted as I wondered what that had to do with doping as he turned his heel, waving his hand as he walked out of the gate, Moija still snarling after him as I brought him back into the house.

 

On the bright side, he technically seemed to be supporting Kageyama’s situation, although the part where he said he would murder him if he did something stupid made my mind turn in circles when I heard Kageyama opening the door, his head peeking through the crack like a kid trying to see if he could get out of being grounded.

 

Bless this child.

 

“Now then, how about we get back to learning English?” I said as he gave me a pout that reminded me of an angry cat from a cartoon is used to watch.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a miracle I even managed to get some sleep during the weekend considering Kageyama was sleeping in my room and possibly rolled around in my bed as he slept.

 

I squealed as I thought how his scent of mint and sweat might linger behind after he went home and how I was going to get rid of it, although I thought it was better for me to let it be instead of going crazy and airing the room. My parents would kill me if they found the window open on a weekday when no one was home.

 

During the weekends, my parents often traveled to Tokyo to run some meetings with their company. My mother was a sports uniform designer while my father was the CEO of the company she worked at. Both of them met after they started working in the same manufacturing company and when they discovered their shared love for designing uniforms, they decided to set up their own company as well as get hitched. Then they had me and had to focus on making sure their child actually grew up in a safe environment, which was why they thought it would be better to raise me in a smaller city away from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.

 

Eventually their business expanded big enough to spread across different prefectures, starting with Tokyo, which led to me being home alone most weekends as they traveled to and fro. Part of the reason I started playing volleyball was due to my parents making me stay over with Tooru, who often played volleyball at every waking moment and when I saw him set a perfect toss to Iwaizumi even though they were just in elementary school, I knew that I wanted to be one of those spikers who could hit that ball.

 

Unfortunately for me, being on the girls team was never as eventful as I would like it to be as in the boys team. The boys seemed to have a charisma and energy that the girls didn’t have even as I moved all the way to high school, always having the will to strive all the way to the top. They lacked the drama girls often had as well when the girls squabbled over who should be dating the captain of the boys team, who were often too head deep into volleyball hell to bother about relationships.

 

I had my fair share of having to hear people fangirl over Kageyama and Tooru when we were in middle school, to the point whenever someone approached me just to talk about my annoying cousin, I would just brush them away and spike a ball to distract myself. It wasn’t as though anyone from the boys team ever came to hunt for me like the girls did to the boys.

 

Screw Tooru for inheriting the good genes of the family and me being left with the lame ones. I was short to begin with, mousy brown hair that reminded me of a tornado hitting my head to leave me with a cross of a bedhead and curls, pimples I had tried so hard to get rid off but remained persistent and a big fat tummy, which no matter how much I ran, spiked, dieted, ceased to wink out of existence.

 

“Are you alright?” Kageyama asked as he stood at the door, his feet already stuffed into his shoes as I quickly nodded and pulled my on, giving my front toes a tap before setting out of the door. I hoped I managed to erase any evidence of Kageyama being in the house and with my parents being one of the main suppliers for the volleyball teams around Miyagi and Tokyo, I didn’t want them to have any ideas of their daughter having a relationship with the boy who was currently in investigation for doping.

 

Wait a minute, whats wrong if they think I’m in a relationship?! They shouldn’t be bothered about teenagers being in love right?

 

“Oikawa-san?” Kageyama gaped as I slapped my hands onto my cheeks, Kageyama jumping back as though I had been possessed, my heart slowly calming down as my brain began to calm down as we walked down the road to the school. Lucky for me, school was only twenty minutes away from foot. I don’t know how Hinata had to deal with the 40 minute bicycle ride up a mountain to school ever day from the town he lived in.

 

The walk to school was fairly quiet, Kageyama looking at the floor most of the time as we passed by Coach Ukai’s shop, some students stopping to get some meat buns from it as Kageyama turned into the shop, not stopping even as I called out his name as some hisses followed after him. Despite him being well known for being super dense and never knowing what was happening around him, I think the doping incident has taken its toll on him.

 

“Mikasa-chan!” a voice called as one of my classmates came over, a weird look on her face as she turned to see Kageyama talking to Coach Ukai inside, money in his hand as he exchanged it for a bag of meatbuns. Her usual gaggle of girl friends circled around us, a nagging feeling at the back of my mind screaming for me to turn tail and run to Kagayema. These girls used to be part of the girls volleyball team, where they thought if they were able to even pass a ball, they would be able to vye for the attention of the boys like Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. And trust me, those two had more things to worry about than bitches who couldn't beat the saltiness that was Tsukishima. 

 

“Neh neh. I heard he was staying over at your place for the weekend. Whats up with that? You want your parents’ reputation to be hurt from having the suspect of a doping scandal sleeping with their daughter?”

 

My face turned beetred as the girls surrounding her laughed, Kageyama oblivious to what was happening to me as I snarled, “Nothing is happening between us. We’re just teammates.”

 

“Oh, I didn’t know you like to play with fire. I know you like him. You stare at him all the time in class! You’re so lame quitting the girls team because you couldn’t stand the drama and want to be with him. Why don’t trash join another trash in matrimony?” she grinned as I felt myself being pulled backwards and a shriek as the girl barely avoided getting slapped in the face by Kageyama. His hand was outstretched as his eyes glared at her, the stare of a person ready to kill someone with a spike as he gently pulled me against him, my back against his chest as I tried not to blow my brains from such close contact.

 

“Don’t you ever dare bring Oikawa-san into this. This is my mess, so if you want to talk trash, do it in my face,” he snapped as the girls high tailed and ran out of there, other students staring at us as he slowly let me go, not noticing how hot and red my face was as Coach Ukai called us into the shop.

 

“Kageyama, if you need a place to crash, you can always crash at mine. Its not like I have anyone living with me,” he sighed as he popped a cigarette into his mouth before lighting it, smoke filling the shop as I tried not to cough. I’m surprised he hasn’t had a heartattack from breathing so much smoke into his lungs as Kageyama gave a low bow to Coach Ukai, who looked startled enough to nearly drop his cigarette onto the magazine in his lap.

 

“Thank you for the offer, Coach Ukai. The others have already offered to take me in for the timebeing. But I will find my own way out of this. I will clear my name, I promise. For the good of the team.”

 

“I appreciate that Kageyama but to think your folks actually kicked you out for this… that’s just wrong. Besides, how could they believe you actually did it when you clearly didn’t do it?” Coach Ukai groaned as he waved us off, his hand tapping on his watch as we hurried up the hill.

 

Kageyama stayed with the third years once more during practice, Yachi supervising them as I ran through some drills with the first and second years. With their senior being the subject of the scandal, the first and second years were also subjected to the occasional bullying by their classmates.

 

Soon to be fallen crows.

 

Clipped wings.

 

These names kept cropping up, remnants of a past everyone wanted to forget.

 

“Ora! If you have time to think about something so stupid, you might want to make sure you focus on the game!” a voice rang as I turned to see Tanaka standing at the door, a grin on his face as he ran his fingers through his bald head.

 

“Tanaka-senpai!” the second years called as Tanaka grinned, spreading his arms wide like a savior as he said, “One more time.”

 

“Senpai!”  
  


‘Muahahaha! One more time!”  
  


As the second years continued to chant their seniors' name, the third years stopped their spiking practice to turn to see the former ace, who was now studying, supposedly, in Osaka.

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” Tsukishima scowled as Tanaka came over, rubbing into his juniors head as he grinned.

 

“I came here to see if my precious kohai is doing well. I can’t believe this shit has even spread to the university volleyball teams. Just how much do people need to stick their noses into this crap?”

 

Kageyama fidgeted in his shoes as Tanaka held a USB in his hand, his expression turning serious as he looked at us.

 

“Meet me in the storage room after practice. Kenma has something to show you guys.”

 

…

 

After a rather intense practice with Tanaka goading the younger students to run faster and spike with more spirit, the first and second years trooped out, too wiped out to question why their seniors were gathering in the storage room that smelled of sweat. Tanaka pulled out his laptop as he sat down on the floor, grimacing at how slick the floor was from sweat as we grouped around him as he fired it up.

 

“Ever since it went viral, we’ve been asking around to see if anyone could try and see if they could check whether it was a fake video. Lucky for us, that sneaky puddinghead setter from Nekoma happened to be doing computer programming and checked out what he found.”

 

He clicked the link to the video of Kageyama holding doping tablets in his hand, the current Kageyama looking away as Tanaka clicked the screen to bring up a second video. This one was the exact same one as the first, only as he zoomed in, the packaging on the bottle showed something else entirely.

 

“Isn’t that antibiotics?” Yachi asked as Kageyama rubbed his neck.

 

“I had a cold coming in and I didn’t want to miss out my practice so I took some before going in.”

 

“Then why didn’t you tell them you were sick?” Hinata blurted as he shook the bigger boy on the shoulders, rattling whatever brain he had in there as Yamaguchi pulled him off.

 

“At any rate. This is big news. Why hasn’t he shown it to anyone yet?”

 

“He sent it to the rest of the guys in the chat group. Now we just have to see the people in charge of all of this but there is just so much going on for us juggling school and this scandal. But I promise this to you bro, we will get you out of this mess. I don't think Daichi took up law just to watch his kohai get roasted for something like this.”

 

Kageyama silently nodded as his senior thumped him hard on the back, nearly making him slam into the laptop as we sighed. This was something to work with for now, at least.

 

“Say Kageyama. Did you ever have anyone in the team who didn’t like you?” Yamaguchi asked as Tsukishima sighed, “I don’t think this guy pays much attention during the game enough to see if anyone actually gives a shit about it.”

 

“Tsukki,” Yamaguchi groaned as Kageyama looked up.

 

“Actually, I think there might be someone but I don’t know if they actually hate me or if its an attitude problem.”

 

“Kageyama, it could be the same thing,” Yamaguchi groaned as Tanaka rubbed his hands together.

 

“Now then, which little player on your team who dared hurt my kohai is going to get hell from Tanaka-senpai?”


	6. Chapter 6

**I will try my best to post as often as I can. I don't exactly have much of a plot going on in my head but don't worry, I will make sure this is a happy ending! Unlike most of my other stories haha.**

**I don't own the characters except for Mikasa.**

 

Tanaka’s surprise return and the revelation of someone being the potential culprit who might be one of Kageyama’s own teammates came with additional surprises, one of which I thought could be signaling the end of everything considering these two souls hated each other.

 

Don’t ask me how Tooru and Ushijima ended up in the same university together and on the same team; it just shows how much those two were meant for each other on the court, and I didn’t mean romantically. Iwaizumi had gone to a different university and when Tooru walked in on the first day of school to find Ushijima both his teammate and classmate, he had spent a good four hours ranting to both me and Iwaizumi on the phone, on separate occasions. I don’t know how Iwaizumi could put up with that drama queen of a cousin I had but bless him for it.

 

Kageyama had pointed out a few people he thought might be the culprit but from the way he described things, most of them he had faced off in nationals in his first year and were on the team were on good terms with him and the few stragglers might just hate him for his guts and poker face, although Tanaka said something about going through the list with him soon.  

As usual, the volleyball magazine we had subscribed to as a club arrived and our juniors had swiped it to open it to the front page where Kageyama’s face was splattered with red letters. I had to do my best to stop Kageyama from snatching it up and tearing it to pieces from the poor souls when Okita, one of the first years flipped a few pages and his eyes went wide when he yelled something that I thought I would never hear.

 

“Ushijima and the Grand King had an interview together!” he yelled as he and the other juniors scanned the pages, my hand going to my phone as I rang up Tooru, who yawned from the other side.

 

“You better have a good explanation for this. I was sleeping so well after being so drunk last night.”

 

“Cut to the chase, Tooru and tell me what the hell this interview is about? Has hell gone crazy and unleashed the demons on the earth?” I snapped as he chuckled dryly before letting out what I assumed was puke along with some coughs.

 

“Why did you think I was drinking in the middle of the week? I needed to get it out of my system that I had to sit with Ushijima for two freaking hours and had my handsome face taken with him and pasted on a magazine! Iwai-chan is going to freak when he sees me with that huge ass monster.”

 

“I think Iwaizumi would tell you to do it again since it clearly brings out the brown in your eyes and makes you actually look like a pro volleyball player.”

 

“So mean! So what do you think?”

 

I peered as best as I could at the magazine from where I was at, Tanaka bouncing behind the juniors as Kageyama thought the heavens had finally answered his prayers. Hinata and Yachi were shrieking like maniacs about how this was actually possible while Tsukishima looked like he had turned the volume of his headphones to maximum and was doing his best to drown out the noise.

 

“Hey guys! Be quiet! Now isn’t the time to gossip! We have the interhigh coming up!” Yamaguchi snapped as he went on to captain mode, his cowlick swaying in the air as everyone quieted down, if ever so slightly. Tanaka grinned as he walked over to his junior, patting his head as he let out a bark.

 

“Now you’re talking like a captain, Yamaguchi! Come on, hustle up! Let’s start with running 10 laps around the gym before doing dive laps! Come on, youth is here so make the best out of it!” he yelled as the players quickly got up and ran out. Tanaka had proclaimed he was on vacation but I doubt he was actually on one considering he was only a month or so into university. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the senior members popped up soon to make their stand with Kageyama.

 

“Mikasa-chan, are you listening?” Tooru cooed over the line as I put my phone back to my ear.

 

“I may not be a fan of Tobio-chan getting into the youth team before I did, but I can never forgive someone for framing a person who can clearly bring Japan to a whole new level in volleyball. As much as I hate to admit, the team needs Tobio-chan. Heck, Shrimpy needs Tobio-chan if he ever wants to land any hits in the court,” he huffed as I sighed, picking up the magazine as Tooru excused himself for needing to go puke and ended the call.

 

The others had left, leaving me to hold up the magazine in my hand as I took a good look over the article in the magazine. I hated to admit but Tooru looked really handsome in his Tokyo Uni jersey alongside Ushijima, who looked like he had grown taller since they had left high school, which I thought would have been impossible. The only thing Tooru had going for him was that he didn’t have to live in the same space as Ushijima, although ironically, he lived just right down the corridor from him.

 

Tough luck when the person you hate is always at your heels.

 

_Two national players speak up for junior scandal_

_We are here reporting from Tokyo University, joined by two members of the national volleyball team, Ushijima Wakatoshi and Oikawa Tooru. Both hail from Miyagi and were once rivals on the court but now, they have been reunited as teammates and now boast as the aces in one of the strongest teams in the country along with representing the country in the next Olympic games._

_“I believe Kageyama is innocent in this. There is no reason for someone like him to resort to drugs when he already has the potential,” Ushijima had said as he stared straight into the camera. Unflinching and unyielding from his spot as one of the top three aces in the country, the wing spiker only has to tell with his eyes that he believes in his junior, who played and won against him on the court two years ago in the legendary battle of concepts in the spring interhigh tournament in Miyagi._

_“Tobio-chan isn’t someone I had liked since I was in school with him. I found him annoying that he was naturally gifted in the sport, although I have to admit that at least I won against him in looks and charm. My kohai may look like a moron who doesn’t know how to tell vitamins from drugs, but he will never ever do something that will affect his chances of playing on the world stage. He has proved himself by beating us once on the court back in high school, but one day, he will stand by our side on the court when we go for the world stage. Which is why despite him having volleyballs for brains, he wouldn’t be stupid enough to take drugs," Oikawa Tooru, former captain and setter of Aoba Johsai tells us._

_“What have the other players have to say about this?”_

_“We believe that Tobio-chan is innocent. If they want to talk bad about him, they have to go through us first. We aren’t the only people standing up for Tobio-chan.”_

_“Ushijima-san, do you have anything else to add to this.”_

_“I won’t say he should have come to Shiratorizawa because he did apply and did not get in on his own merit, but I will say that if he comes here in the future, we will protect him as a team should.”_

_We will return with more interviews from players across Japan on their say on this issue._

_Star setter Kageyama Tobio, third year student at Karasuno High School in Miyagi and member of the under 19 mens volleyball team was suspected of doping during one of his training sessions in Tokyo two weeks ago and is now under investigation and suspension from the team.  Authorities are taking proper measures into looking into this matter and hope to resolve it soon as interhighs roll around the corner._

I shut the magazine as I leaned against the wall, my head spinning from what the two bitter enemies had said about him. Ushijima and Tooru working together to make sure Kageyaam got through this, it was a feat on its own.

 

“Iwaizumi is going to have a good laugh when he sees this,” I grinned as I snapped a picture of it when I saw the name of the writer of the article written below in tiny kanji that I could barely make out. My heart leaped in my chest as I thought of how Kageyama isn’t alone in this, and that his family was doing everything in their power to help him.

 

The writer of the article had been his very own mother, Kageyama Reina.

 

“Mrs Kageyama, I will make sure that Kageyama is brought to justice,” I whispered as I closed the magazine, grabbing my jacket as I ran to the gym to be met with an all too familiar shout.

 

“Rolling… thunder!!!!” Nishinoya yelled as he received the ball, one of the juniors yelling in surprise as the ball came sailing back at him, the ball going out of bounds as the junior failed to receive it as Tanaka roared in triumph, going over to give Nishinoya one of their signature half squat pumps.

 

“Hey you guys. You know you shouldn't be ditching school right?” Yamaguchi groaned as Yachi tried her best to calm down the two seniors.

 

“Who cares about school when our precious junior is in trouble? We’ll look after you, don’t worry. But first, what must you say?” Nishinoya roared as the juniors shouted, “Nishinoya-senpai!”

 

“Muahahaha! And don’t forget…”

 

“Tanaka-senpai!”

 

“Those two idiots have a lot of juniors to go around calling them that,” Tsukishima groaned as he clapped his hands over his ears as Coach Ukai yelled for everyone to get back to practice. I looked around to see everyone being as lively as ever, Hinata spiking every ball with precision as Yamaguchi covered him, Tsukishim giving killer blocks that blocked out nearly every ball the juniors tried to hit through. Even Tanaka had his spikes blocked by the lanky blonde as he cursed, calling Tsukishima a beanpole as poor Takeda sensei tried to call for order.

 

“Ora! You people here to cuss each other or what? Interhigh ain’t gonna wait for you! You want to be called clipped crows once more?!” he yelled as the team flinched at his words. That was something no one wanted to hear ever again and with this incident, those words were starting to float around from the mouths of other schools.

 

“Ora!!! Let’s get back to it!” Tanaka yelled as he whipped off his shirt to swing it in the air, Coach Ukai yelling at him to put it back on as everyone caught a breather by joining in the laughter of Tanaka being forced back into his shirt by Coach Ukai before practice resumed.

 

Only Kageyama stood apart from the rest, his eyes downcast as he held the volleyball in his hand, not having set even once since the game began. Hinata would cast a worried look at his partner once in a while before the notion of getting hit in the face came back to him with Tanaka slamming a ball into his face on more than one occasion, bringing him back to focus on the game.

 

Before I knew it, I found myself sitting beside Kageyama, both of us watching the others play when I brought up the article.

 

“Your mother wrote that article for Tooru and Ushijima. Did she tell you anything about it?” I asked as Kageyama flinched at the mention of his mother. I knew his father can be much more stern than he needed to be but his mother had always seemed to be a very kind and understanding person.

 

“Mother said she would clear my name even though Father thought I was already a lost cause. People had been boycotting his company because of the scandal but, she always believed in me,” he whispered as my hand found itself on his, not letting go even as my face turned red and I wanted to tear it away from him.

 

“We will be with you till the end. I promise,” I said as the beginnings of a smile tugged on the corners of his mouth before he got up to go spike some balls in the corner on his own.

 

I pray that this problem would be resolved soon or Kageyama might be in a bigger pinch than ever.

**I ended up using the name of the swimmer from Mr Hiiragi's Homeroom as Kageyama's mother's name but I feel that its befitting of the role. His parents were never mentioned in the anime or manga and I always thought his father would be pretty fierce while his mother a cool and kind beauty, kinda like Shimizu haha.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I feel this chapter is more on random ranting and thoughts than it should be but still, always wanted to see how the situation would turn out if the captains of the various teams came together to talk over a cup of tea. I can't imagine them sitting down doing nothing about it when they were in Tokyo together anyway.**

 

**I don't own any of the characters here, although I wish I do since they're smoking hot, sigh.**

 

Oikawa tapped his foot as he tried his best to sip his tea without squeezing the handle of his cup as Ushijima drank Japanese tea opposite him in a zen like way. Some girls who passed by squealed as they spotted them together, some of them waving at Oikawa who was too occupied to send them kisses given he was more occupied with this emergency meeting between the former captains and members of certain Miyagi volleyball teams, including that of Karasuno, Nekoma and Fukurodani.

 

The meeting place was a small cafe that served as a haunting spot for many volleyball players that went to school around the area. Being a former volleyball player themselves, the owner of the cafe had taken to making it the perfect spot for players to relax after a long day of practice. Jerseys with signatures from various volleyball players lined the walls along with volleyball shaped lights hanging above them. Even the flooring resembled that of the court, wooden tables cluttered together in the design of various team jerseys. Oikawa had taken a liking to it when he entered, although he was glad that one particular feature of the court was missing: the smell of salonpas. Despite being a player for so long, he couldn't quite get used to the smell.

 

The few stray volleyball players that were here made sure they sat far away from the duo as though just by sitting near them would bring them defeat in their next game. Oikawa knew he should have gone in normal clothing instead of his volleyball uniform but he had been so used to wearing it at this time that he had gone out of the university without even realising he was in it. The coach hadn't been pleased when he found out the captain and vice captain weren't going to be around that day.

 

“I can’t believe I’m actually going to meet them off the court after so long. So many of them have retired from the sport and literally fell from the face of the volleyball court but now they’re coming back for Tobio-chan. How cute… that stupid little kohai of mine has grown so much,” he huffed as Ushijima set down his cup. The former ace of Shiratorizawa had been invited as well since he had been a member of the under 19 mens volleyball team and knew how it worked along with some of its players that were around during his time. Oikawa had managed to quell the fire to his rivalry against Ushijima quite a bit since both of them were on the same team; quite.

 

At least he didn't tell him he should have gone to Shiratorizawa anymore. 

 

“Kageyama-kun is a good player and he needs his name to be cleared. As much as it is a pain that we have skipped practice today just to attend this meeting, this better be good,” he murmured as the door to the café opened with a tinkle and a group of boys walked in, dressed in their team jerseys of black, red and white and gold. Oikawa wriggling his eyebrows as he recognized them, the shortest of the group waving at him as he called them over.

 

Sawamura Daichi, the imposing leader of the former flightless crows who now a law student in Tokyo. He still remained one of the best receivers you could get on a team, pushing his team up to shove when needed to. He had been the one to come up with an idea for a petition in clearing Kageyama’s name and letting him back on the team but it wasn’t easy to get 500 names from volleyball players physically. The team had good connections but it was still a massive feat to do.

 

Kuroo Tetsurou, former captain of Nekoma and current captain of Nekoma University’s boys volleyball team. He was always accompanied by his pudding head setter friend so it was odd to see him alone, although he was in deep conversation with the wild haired guy next to him.

 

Bokuto Koutaro, a rather feisty spirit who didn’t quite managed to make it to the top three aces during his high school years, although it looked highly likely he may be well on track in getting to the under 21 men’s team for the Olympic games.

 

These were some of the strongest volleyball members you could get in Japan as far as Oikawa was concerned.

 

“Hey hey hey, if it isn’t the top ace, Ushijima. I warn you, the next time we play on the court, I’m going to knock you flat,” Bokuto grinned as Ushijima barely even flinched at his words.

 

“I will do the same as I do every year during the interuniversity volleyball games: I will crush your team and stand on the court.”

 

“Now guys, why don’t we just chill out and discuss what we have come here for. I don’t fancy having to miss practices but Kageyama’s case is getting out of hand,” Kuroo said as he pulled up a chair, the three newcomers squeezing the best as they could around the two-table space as Daichi brought out a paper.

 

“I’ve been trying to collect as many signatures as I can but it isn’t going well. After talking to the Board of Directors for the Japanese Volleyball Association, they gave me the proposition of finding 500 signatures to even begin the chance to get to beg for Kageyama’s case. Its ridiculous how this even happened, how could they think Kageyama would resort to doping in such a crucial time in his career. The potential of losing his sports recommendation, not playing volleyball…” he whispered as Kuroo sighed.

 

“Some people just don’t know how to take things into stride. When a strong player comes onto the team and steals your show, of course some people who thought they had been standing right on top would feel intimidated. I don’t think the person we’re dealing with is someone who is merely doing this for kicks. He means to make sure Kageyama would never be able to play volleyball ever again,” he said.

 

“Then why don’t we find this poser and give him a good earful? Nothing’s better than giving a man to man talk with a man,” Bokuto growled as Daichi patted his back as gently as he could as he gave a menacing smile.

 

“Bokuto, I don’t think this person is within reason anymore. Framing someone for doping is a crime that can land them in jail for a good time and never allow them to see the court ever again. Which brings me to the questions, Ushijima.”

 

Ushijima nodded as he brought up a list of players who were on the under 19 mens volleyball team, their profiles printed out alongside their faces as Daichi pulled on his glasses to read them.

 

“Atsumu Miya is cleared along with Hoshiumi, and I don’t see anyone else who would have a grudge on Kageyama. Ushijima, you train with them once in a while, did you ever notice anything off about any of the players?” Daichi asked.

 

“Kageyama had always kept to Hoshiumi, who is in some ways like Hinata. I often wondered why he didn’t make it onto the team with him considering how much he improved over the years.”

 

“Let’s not focus on chibi-chan and focus on Tobio-chan’s potential enemy. That guy never really did have much going for him in his brain when it came to friendships,” Oikawa snapped as Ushijima’s finger pointed to one particular player on the page.

 

“He has been on the team for two years now. I recalled him being very close to another player who had to leave the team after shattering his knee during a practice match. The coach said he would never be able to play volleyball again.”

 

Oikawa held his own knee, which was like a ticking time bomb. If he trained too much, which he had done for years, it would render him useless on the court and never be able to play volleyball ever again. The knowledge of that just made him play harder than before, trying to play as much as he could before his time ran out. After a knee surgery on the urging of Mikasa and Iwaizumi, his knee had gotten better ever so slightly over the years.

 

“Oh right. That had been in an interview with Volleyball Monthly at one point. It said the guy was adamant about leaving. I mean, who would after dedicating themselves so much to volleyball only to be told they cannot play anymore,” Kuroo said as Daichi tapped the photograph of the player. The boy had an impish look on his face, his dark grey eyes gleaming as though something was brewing in the back of his mind as this picture was taken.

 

“Matsuoka Hatake-kun, the player who had injured himself, was a close friend to Arataka Hayate-kun. Both of them had entered the team at the same time and were an inseparable combo despite being from different schools, much like Hinata and Kageyama. Arataka had been left broken by the incident and was never quite able to match up to speed with training and one thing that he had blamed Matsuoka’s injury on was the fact that Kageyama had tossed the ball too fast and it led to him lunging for the ball, landing on his knee. You can imagine the end result,” Ushijima said as the boys collectively let out a low hiss of pain at the thought of it.

 

Oikawa thought the days of Kageyama’s erratic setting were gone or at least under control but if the boy had dove for the ball on his own accord, he couldn’t be blamed for the incident.

 

“So you’re saying this person might have the mad idea to frame Kageyama for something he potentially didn’t do? Talk about petty,” Kuroo huffed as Daichi tapped his pen.

 

“Alright, now we have a potential suspect, now we have to get to work trying to get information from Kageyama on his end on what he think may be the cause. Ushijima, you have connections within the volleyball association. Try to make them see reason on this.”

 

“I will try.”

 

“Alright then, now that the meeting is technically done, whose up for an early dinner? I’m starving!” Bokuto hooted as Oikawa pinched his nose as the boys began to order food. He tried to turn his attention to his phone to see a message from Mikasa on Kageyama going to her house to stay over the weekend once more. Looks like the poor soul was still homeless, kicked out of the house by his own parents.

 

He thought the idea of his mother emailing him and Ushijima in a plea to try and clear her son’s name was an act of love that he thought he could never find in a mother. Especially when her job was on the line and her husband had kicked out their son from the house.

 

“Tobio-chan, if you ever do anything to my cousin, I will make sure I will haunt you to the end of your days,” he growled as he raised his hand to call for an omurice.


	8. Chapter 8

Friday came much faster than I expected, my heart hammering against my chest as I tried not to think of the weekend ahead with Kageyama. I knew I should be focusing on making sure the team was in good shape both physically and mentally for the upcoming interhigh championships but I couldn’t break out the thought that Tooru had planted in my mind after the interview the other day.

 

Kageyama wouldn’t be interested in things like that, wouldn’t he?

 

“Alright, let’s start with the usual drills. Kageyama, you’re with the juniors. Okita, you’re the setter for the seniors team. Hinata, you better work on your receives! They’re still lacking behind despite all these years!” Coach Ukai snapped as a shiver ran up Hinata’s spine, the orange-head middle blocker moving into position as the coach shouted out everyone’s starting order. Business as usual.

 

Both Tanaka and Nishinoya had been here for the past few days and I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone popping in after practice was over like they did. While the team was thrilled to see the faces of their most powerful libero and former ace, that didn’t stop Kageyama from looking distraught whenever he was away from the court, still being the object of humiliation for the rest of the school.

 

Somehow, even junior high and elementary school volleyball teams had come around taunting him about the scandal and I had to do everything in my power to ward them off like an exorcist trying to get rid of evil spirits.

 

“Okita-kun!” Hinata shouted as the first year set the ball, the ball wobbling a little of course as Hinata spiked it down. Haruka, a second year wing spiker and one of our best defenders, taking up the mantle after Daichi had left dove to receive it, shouting for someone to pick it back up.

 

When we had nearly just won nationals, losing only to Fukurodani, we had become a hotspot for volleyball players, all of them wishing to become part of the risen champions. While many couldn’t quite meet the crazy regimen of training so many hours a week under the watchful eye of coach Ukai, those who stayed behind carried the will and dream of seniors gone past to one day reign champions on the national stage. We weren’t made of the best players in the country but together, they brought out the best in the whole team.

 

“Duck!” Okita yelled as he tossed the ball way out of bounds, the ball hurtling at top speed to where I was standing at the wall. Without thinking, I dropped my clipboard and rose to block it when a single body moved in front of me, a whamming sound filing the court as drops of blood began to spill onto the floor.

 

“Holy shit! I’m so sorry, Kageyama-senpai!” Okita wailed as he got into a groveling position. If someone ever had the chance to take the mantle of being the groveler of the team, Okita did the trick, always getting on his knees to beg for mercy for even the tiniest of mistakes.

 

Kageyama waved him off as Ukai called for a forced time out, the boys scattering to get some drinks as I handed Kageyama my handkerchief. He grunted as he lifted his nose in the air, trying to stop the bleeding as the pink fabric of the handkerchief began to get stained with blood as I bowed.

 

“That was my ball. I’m sorry for getting you injured at a time like this,” I said as Kageyama waved a hand, his face impassive as he gave his nose a bit of a crack.

 

“Its not like I have anything to worry about when it comes to injuries. For all I know, I may never be able to play volleyball ever again,” he said as he pocketed the handkerchief as Yamaguchi ran over, holding some tissues in his hand as the boy stuffed them into his nose.

 

“Hey, who told you to be all negative?!” a voice roared as four figures stood at the doorway, one of which had a smile that lit up the entire world as his cowlick wiggled on his head.

 

“Sugawara-san?!” Yamaguchi yelped as the former vice captain and mama of the team came in to give a karate chop on Kageyama’s head, the pieces of tissue lodged in his nose falling out as he yelped before Sugawara pulled him into an embrace.

 

“Come on, nows not the time to feel down when you have interhigh coming up! We can deal with that stupid scandal but for now, focus on polishing your game. You’re the setter of the team right? Don’t you dare make excuses about wanting to run away from it all now when the spotlight is on your head,” Sugawara snapped as Asahi whispered, “He’s so scary when he’s in responsible mother mode.”

 

“Shimizu can handle him so it’s alright. He needs to be stern now that he’s striving to working as a kindergarten teacher. You know how kids can be like these days,” Daichi sighed as his eyes zoned in on Hinata and Tsukishima, who shivered in their shoes as Yachi ran over, waving to her seniors.

 

“Ah, Yachi-chan! You’ve grown so much!” Asahi squeaked as one of the first years whispered, “Is he her uncle or something?”, causing Asahi to silently choke up blood at the comment.

 

Poor Asahi was still getting berated about how old he looked no matter where he went and it wasn’t a surprise that most people thought he had been the coach of the team at one point rather than being an ace.   
  


“What you kids doing here skipping classes?” Ukai groaned as he ran a hand through his dyed blonde hair as the seniors began to remove their jackets, revealing their old Karasuno jerseys underneath as some of the juniors began to fanboy over them.

 

“Asahi Azumane, as in the ace who defeated the Iron Wall Dateko after ditching practice for a month?! I didn’t know he was that old!”

 

“Sugawara-senpai was setter before Kageyama-senpai but his skills are still legendary along with how he can make sure everyone is in line. Now I know where Captain Yamaguchi gets his mum skills from.”

 

“Sawamura Daichi, the captain who reined in the group of renegades and brought them to the national stage? He really is as awesome as they say! He bleeds the aura of captain and defender on the court!”

 

“Eh, what about me?” Ennoshita groaned as I gave him a pat on the back, the poor guy sighing in defeat for always being left out of the picture despite having left the club just a couple of months ago as some of the juniors came over and bowed low to them.

 

“Thank you for your support to the team!” they shouted as one as Ukai shouted, “Alright, now that we have the alumni here, how about we have a match of alumni vs. new kids?” A mad grin was forming on his face as the juniors gulped, the aura of challenge rising from the former team of Karasuno as Tanaka cracked his knuckles.

 

“Come on. Let’s show them what we’re made of as senpais,” he grinned as Nishinoya shouted, “Let youth burn!”

 

“Come on now you two, settle down,” Sugawara grinned as he gently patted the heads of his juniors as Daichi shouted, “Alright, let’s do this!”

 

They didn't need to be told what to do as the boys got into a group huddle, all of them putting their heads together as Daichi shouted, "Karasuno, fight!"

 

"Fight!!" they shouted as they stamped their feet on the floor, their voices ringing throughout the gym as the juniors shivered in their shoes.

 

Soon everyone was in position, most of the juniors looking ready to fall six feet under the dirt as they looked at the team that had gone toe to toe with the champions of the court two years back. We didn’t manage to make it as far into nationals last year but this year, we will make it to the top.

 

Kageyama had decided to sit this one out to give Sugawara a chance to play as well as to make sure he didn’t continue to bleed blood from his nose every few seconds. His eyes were trained on his senior as he bounced the ball onto the court, holding it in his hand before holding it up to toss it.

 

“Sugawara-san, nice serve!” Nishinoya yelled as Sugawara served the ball, the ball sailing above the net in a simple arc. Not hard enough to cause a panic but a clean hit to make sure the ball entered. A second year dove to get the ball as it rose into the air for Okita to set it and another to run up and spike it as Tsukishima blocked it, a smirk on his face as the player gawked at him.

 

“Come on, now. Don’t you think that’s a little too harsh on the kid?” Daichi groaned as Tsukishima sneered, “If we don’t pummel them now, they won’t know the true horrors of the court.”

 

“Tsukishima is being as salty as always,” I groaned as Yachi laughed, her eyes shining as she watched the team play against one another. From someone who had no idea what volleyball was, she had come so far in being one of the most renown managers of Miyagi volleyball teams. Whenever she was present at a game, people would be busy gawking at her instead of focusing on the game at times, which played well in our favour since that allowed us to score better.

 

I wondered if anyone would stare at me like they would with Yachi…

 

The game was intense, although most of the points went to the former Karasuno team. With Asahi’s even more powerful spikes and Tanaka’s wild ones, Nishinoya’s saves, Suga’s perfect setting and Daichi’s strong defense, it half put the current team to shame as they wiped the floor with them, most of the first and second years on their knees at the end of it as they resigned to their fate.

 

“You’ve put quite a good team together, Yamaguchi,” Daichi grinned as he guzzled down some water as Okita bowed low to Sugawara, “Please teach me how to set like you!”  
  


“I think you already have a good teacher, Okita-kun,” Sugawara smiled as the younger boy blushed. Sugawara had the ability to make anyone swoon, man or woman, although he ultimately ended up with Shimizu-senpai much to the dismay of Tanaka and Nishinoya the year after the graduated when both of them enrolled in the same university for childhood studies.

 

“Please teach us how to spike, sir!” some first years yelled as they crowded around Asahi, the former ace’s face pale as he stammered about how he was bad at coaching as some of the second years chatted with Ennoshita about how his life in university was going. To see everyone back to support Kageyama in such a hard time, it made me want to tear up.

 

The doors slammed open as Takeda-sensai stood at the threshold, his face devoid of blood as he wheezed, looking as though he had just sprinted all the way from the teacher’s office to the gym. He had a letter in his hand with the crest of the Japanese Volleyball Association stamped on the corner as Kageyama’s head lifted.

 

“Kageyama-kun, may I have a word,” Takeda-sensei said as he finally regained his breath as the setter followed him out of the gym, most of us too focused on what was going on outside to hear Coach Ukai trying to get us to clean up for the day. As I mopped the floor, I caught a few sentences of what he was saying that made my heart drop.

 

“Tried their best.”

 

“Can’t get them to change their mind.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

Kageyama didn’t come back into the gym afterwards, merely sitting outside as we trickled out in droves. Finally, the old Karasuno team stood together, surrounding their setter as Sugawara knelt down and gently put a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Kageyama, do you want to talk about it?” he asked as Kageyama looked up at long last, silent tears streaming from his eyes as he whispered.

 

“I have been kicked out of the team and barred from playing volleyball for the next five years.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just got an idea for this chapter and had to start writing immediately. Fufu can't wait for the next bit.

“But… but…” I whispered as Hinata rushed forward to slam his hands onto Kageyama’s shoulder.

 

“That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard! How could they force you to leave the court at a time like this?! They don’t even have any proof, right, Daichi-san?” he asked as he turned desperately to Daichi, who hung his head as he dug his hands into his pocket, Suga and Asahi’s hands on his shoulders trying to steady him. The three of them had turned pale at the news while Coach Ukai was trying his best not to strangle Takeda-sensei for an explanation.

 

“I tried! I tried to tell them this was all a misunderstanding and ridiculous! Even after you showed me the video and I sent it to them in an attempt to make a plea along with the Neighbourhood Volleyball Association, they didn’t see it as valid evidence. Kageyama-kun, I’m so sorry,” Takeda-sensei wailed as he got to his knees and began groveling before his pupil as soon as Coach Ukai released him from the shock.

 

“At any rate, Kageyama…. Man, this is bullshit,” Coach Ukai groaned as he thumbed his lighter in an attempt to calm him down when Kageyama grabbed his bag and took off down the road, not waiting for any of us to catch up to him. We were too shocked to follow anyway, our feet rooted in front of the gym as we watched the setter take off into the setting sun.

 

“I’m going after him,” Hinata said the moment the silence was broken with the sound of Coach Ukai yelping from the lighter burning him. He looked around, desperate to get an answer from all of us as Takeda-sensei shook his head.

 

“Let him take his time. He’s in shock, as are we all. Nothing better to heal a broken spirit than time away from the world and rest.”

 

“Sensei, he will be getting much more rest than he needs. What about the team? What about interhigh coming up in a month?! What are we going to do without a setter? The team is going to go plunging into the pits without him!” Yamaguchi shrieked as Hinata barreled into him, slamming him against the wall as he yelled.

 

“Kageyama is the one that needs worrying now, not the team! Just because his personality is bad, doesn’t mean we should discount him as a person!”

 

Yamaguchi’s face fell as he sank to the ground, hugging his legs as he tried to stop his lip from trembling as Tsukishima crouched beside him to pull him against his side as the captain broke down into tears.

 

“How can I be so stupid to forsake my teammate like that? I’m an idiot. I’m such an idiot. I’m not worthy to be captain.”

 

“Baka. You think anyone else can lead these team of crazy crows other than you? You’re doing a good job, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima said as he held the captain against him as Yamaguchi whimpered, “Sorry Tsukki.”

 

“Don’t be.”

 

“Now then, who was Kageyama supposed to stay with today?” Yachi asked as Tsukishima raised his hand.

 

“Not like I want the King in my home but I will make sure to get a message out if he doesn’t turn in by nightfall,” he said as Coach Ukai clapped his hands, urging us to go home as we walked out of the school gates into the darkening outside world. The streetlights had turned on, some bugs flying around it, a sign of summer approaching as I shivered in my jacket, glad I can shed it in a month’s time for just a shirt as I walked down the road to the bottom of the hill before parting ways with the others to head into my neighbourhood.

 

When I opened the door to the house, I saw a note on the dining table as I picked it up, my mother’s neat handwriting written across the paper as I eyed the covered food on the table.

 

“Your father and I have to go to Tokyo on urgent business so you will be having a three day home alone time without us. Sorry for the late notice. Hope your favourite unagi dish perks you up. Love, Mum.”

 

“Thanks a lot,” I murmured as I eyed the food before going up to my room to take a shower, my stomach devoid of any appetite as I waited for the baththub to fill before sinking into it.

 

Today had been madness. How could they do something so cruel to Kageyama? He was still a child, a child with a heart as fragile as glass that shatters the moment volleyball is taken away from him. He couldn’t survive in a world without volleyball and someone had to take to take it away from him out of jealousy?

 

I sank my head under the water as I stared at the ceiling of the bathroom, the light above me shimmering like the moon as the water rippled above my head. The heat did nothing to calm me down as I let out a few air bubbles, trying to let the water wash away everything that had happened today when I heard my phone ringing from my room. Cursing that I had to get out of the bath, wrap myself in a towel and walk out in a short span of time before the ringing stopped, I did just that, forgoing the towel as I snatched my phone and pressed the answer button.

 

“Yachi-san, whats up?” I asked as Yachi squeaked, “Tsukishima just called in and Kageyama hasn’t come over. I’m praying he hasn’t done anything stupid.”

 

“Don’t worry! Kageyama isn’t stupid enough to go kill himself over something like that!” Hinata shouted from the background as something was thrown at him, a shriek coming from the orange head as Yachi panted, “At any rate, we’re going to go look for him. Hinata is over at my place and since you’re closest to the school, you can go check out the gym while we check out the other places in town. Good luck!”

 

“Will do,” I said as I set it down, changing and drying my body and hair in less than five minutes before running out of the door,my phone in hand and not caring as the wind bit into my still wet hair as I ran up the hill that led to Karasuno. I had never run up the hill in ages and man, I thought it was madness the boys did some sprinting up the hill once a week to build up their stamina all the way to the town that Shiratorizawa resided in.

 

Speaking of which…

 

When I reached Karasuno and tried to jingle open the locked gym doors, I gave up before rushing to the locker room to see if he was there to find the place empty and covered with a few questionable magazines with women on top. Clicking my tongue as I made a mental note to tell Tanaka and Nishinoya off for influencing the younger members with that sort of stuff, I slammed the door to run to the classroom where Kageyama and I shared our classes with, my footsteps ringing down the corridor as my heart slammed against my chest.

 

Normally I would be freaked out at the idea of running through the hallways on my own at night but I didn’t care. All I needed to know was that Kageyama was safe and sound, not somewhere all alone in the night, freezing in his Karasuno jacket. The same jacket that had led him to where he was now and the only place he was able to call himself a part of the team. The bond that was about to be taken from him.

 

“Kageyama!” I screamed as I ran down the hall, not caring if the security guard noticed me as I slammed open our classroom door, the door rattling as I peered inside, the interior of the classroom dark as the moonlight barely spilled onto an empty desk in the darkness. It marked the very spot Kageyama spent most of his time sleeping at, since he didn’t have to focus on getting a place in university since he was getting in by recommendations.

 

“Oi, who’s there?” a voice shouted as I cursed, racing to the source of the yell as the guard yelled at me to stop running when I grabbed him by the collar and jingled him to the point his brain rattled.

 

“Have you seen a boy? Dark eyes, black hair, scowl on his face? In the Karasuno Volleyball Team jacket? He’s about 180cm.”

 

“Don’t know, don’t care. Look little miss, you’re going to be in big trouble if I reported you coming here at night to have sex with your boyfriend but I’m going to let you go since you’re still young and make mistakes…”

 

“I swear to God, I’m not here to make out with a boy! My teammate can be in danger!” I yelled as the guard yelped, my hand letting go of his shirt as he stammered about reporting me. Not waiting for a reply, I dashed out to the next location I thought he might be at: Shiratorizawa Academy, the first school that rejected him that landed him in Karasuno.

 

“Come on, pick up, you crazy mushroom head,” I growled as I ran up the hill towards Shiratorizawa Academy, my hand on my phone as I called one of the few guys who actually told me they liked me because I was related to a star volleyball player. I nearly slammed him across the room at the very idea but at least I managed to get his number, which proved to be useful at a time like this.

 

“Ah, Oikawa-san! I didn’t expect you to be calling after getting hit in the face,” Goshiki mused as I shrieked, “Have you seen Kageyama?”

 

“No, why would I? Wait, didn’t he get into a scandal recently about doping…”

 

“I will tell you later about it! For crying out loud, is he there or what?!”

 

“No, but if you ever want to come over and hang out,” he chirped as I hung up the phone, having reached the intersection leading to Shiratorizawa as I panted hard, having not run this hard for so long.

 

_“Come on, girls! Let’s do this!” our captain yelled as we jogged up the hill, most of us already walking instead of jogging up the steep incline of Heart Break Hill as I swore, trying my best not to spit out profanities as I heard a bunch of hollering coming from behind us. When I turned, I saw a flash of orange followed by dark hair sprinting up the slope, not caring even as their teammates shouted at them to stop as I blinked._

_“Hey, wasn’t that Kageyama from the men’s team?” someone asked as our captain pleaded for us to continue running, much to her horror as someone slumped to their knees begging for water. Which was why we never ever used that hill for training ever again._

Thinking of why Kageyama would even go to Shiratorizawa in the first place, I started back down the hill, going past Coach Ukai’s shop that was now pitch black, the signboard switched off as its owner drove around town searching for his lost student. When I looked at our groupchat, I had Hinata and Yachi scouring the forest on the way to school, which I thought was pretty brave and stupid of them since there was no way he would go in there while Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were going around their side of the town asking people if they had seen him.

 

Tanaka and Nishinoya were in the city centre searching for him while the former third years had gone to the various sports centres we had frequented during tournaments to see if he was there. Ennoshita was trying his best to keep Takeda-sensei calm as he drove around in a panic in the surrounding town Karasuno was in along with the next before heading over to his parent’s place. I could only hope that he had chosen to go home and that his parents would actually accept that their son wished to at least have a place to call home for now.

 

I sneezed as the wind picked up, cutting through the thin jacket I wore around my shoulders as I tugged it against my body. The Karasuno team jacket was great but it didn’t go well in the cold along with my wet hair. I prayed hard to the gods that I wouldn’t be getting a cold anytime soon as I walked into my neighbourhood, stopping short to see a certain someone blended in so well against the darkness that I almost didn’t see him.

 

Kageyama was squatting outside of my house, his head tucked between his legs like a sleeping duck as he sniffled, mumbling something under his breath as I gently knelt down to pat him on the shoulder. He barely stirred as I shook him a bit harder, my mouth forming his name before he finally lifted his head.

 

His eyes were red from crying and his cheeks red from being in the cold for so long. His hands were as cold as a corpse’s, my hands shivering from the thought that he might have become one if he decided to do something stupid instead of coming here.

 

“Kageyama, thank goodness,” I whispered as I flung myself against him, not holding myself back as I sank into him, tears pouring from my eyes as I embraced him. I didn’t care that he barely moved under my touch or for the fact I was so warm compared to his cold body.

 

Thank goodness he was safe. That he was alive.

 

A growl escaped from his stomach as I gently pulled him to his feet, the poor boy wobbling from having squatted for goodness knows how long as I said.

 

“How about we have some dinner?”


	10. Chapter 10

_“How did we end up like this?”_ I shrieked internally to myself as I stared at Kageyama’s sleeping back, his snores soft as his shoulders rose and fall as he slept.

**A few hours ago…**

 

“Itadakimasu,” Kageyama murmured as he picked up the chopsticks, slowly using them to cut away a bit of the unagi and popping it into his mouth as his eyes widened, the taste hitting his tastebuds as he began to scarf down his food. I could imagine the last time he had eaten being lunch and with having had two hours of practice earlier, although majority of the time had been spent watching the seniors play, he must be starving.

 

I didn’t have much of an appetite, opting to make some cup ramen for myself as Kageyama helped himself to the dinner my mum had made for me. I felt he deserved something luxurious to bring an end to a hectic day he already had.

 

“What were you doing waiting outside of my house?” I asked as Kageyama drank the miso soup I had made with a loud slurp.

 

“I didn’t know where else to go and your house was the nearest to the school. Hinata’s is right across the mountain and the others are in the city. I didn’t want to be anywhere near so many people,” he mumbled as he set down the bowl before picking up his rice bowl to continue eating. I could imagine how fast the news of Kageyama getting kicked out of the team and banned from volleyball spreading across the volleyball community like wildfire. The juniors had been sending tons of messages in our group chat not even an hour after the news had come out and there was no telling if they had heard it from an outside source or if they had told it to other schools.

 

Anyway, it would be hell for Kageyama to show his face in public now that this had escalated to this degree along with probably making the front page the sports section tomorrow in the newspaper. That was the price to pay for being a good player; you get the benefits of rising to the top of the stage but when something bad happens, you get torn as fast as the world had raised you up a pedestal. The sports world showed no mercy to atheletes; you’re in one day and you’re out the next.

 

“Thank you for the meal,” he murmured as he clapped his hands together, setting down his chopsticks before picking up the empty dishes to wash up as I stopped him, my heart surprisingly calm despite having touched his bare skin as I hustled him up the stairs.

 

“You’re freezing like a corpse. You better warm up or you would catch a cold,” I chided as I silently cursed myself for adding such a morbid pun in the sentence. Kageyama didn’t appear to be affected by it as he walked upstairs, the sound of the bathroom door closing followed by the taps turning on filling the air as I got to work finishing washing up before calling Yachi.

 

“Thank the gods he’s safe. Takeda-sense was considering issuing a police warrant to find him if he hadn’t found him in an hour. Ennoshita had to calm him down more than half of the time when he was on the road to avoid him slamming into trees when they were out searching for him. He didn’t dare call Kageyama’s parents since they technically disowned him for the timebeing but I’m sure they would be more freaked out about their son being missing than getting mad for getting a phone call about it…” Yachi stammered as I sighed.

 

“At any rate, he’s safe at my place. I’ll keep an eye out for him over the weekend and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

 

“Please do. I can’t bear to hear anything else happening. This is already as bad as it gets,” Yachi wailed as someone’s breath filled the background from what I presumed came from Hinata hugging her from behind. I groaned as I thought of how far those two had come as a couple when I thought of Kageyama sleeping in my own room tonight. I tried my best to banish those thoughts as Yachi wished me goodnight before ending the call.

 

Moija had been in my room this whole time, the tiny thing curled into a ball on the bed as my eyes fell on a topless Kageyama, who had fallen on the bed with the lights on and was now fast asleep. The tiny furball yelped as I gently put him on the ground, moving to cover Kageyama’s sleeping form with the blanket when his hand shot out to touch mine, a mad squeal coming from me as Kageyama whispered, “Sorry.”

 

“Don’t be. You had a rough day,” I said as I pulled the covers over him, his hand still fixed on mine as I screamed at myself to stop blushing. Kageyama’s back was against mine so he didn’t see my facial expression. That meant I couldn’t see what his face showed when he asked me the words I thought I would never get to hear, my mind screaming that this was not the time to be so happy about something like this.

 

“Would you stay with me?”

 

Not long after, I found myself in the bed with him, with my long sleeved and pants pajamas on. I flinched at the fact that the shirt had been an alien shirt worn by Tooru which I snagged and never returned when he came over to sleep at one point as Kageyama slowly turned to face me, his breath hot as the darkness gave cover to my blushing face. He was so close, smelling of the shampoo I normally used and the mint toothpaste I had just used…

 

What should I say? I can’t say it will be alright because everything was far from being alright now. His world was an epic mess and Kageyama has just lost everything he worked so hard for for so long in a blink of an eye. To say that it will be ok, that’s worse than a fat lie.

 

I wasn’t someone to give false hope even when the person needed all the hope they could get.

 

“Kageyama, I will be with you until the end of the line. I won’t leave you, and so will the team. We’re here for you no matter what,” I said as I caught a glimpse of Kageyama silently moving his head in the darkness. I couldn’t make out if it was a nod or a shake. He never did talk much and I expected him to not say anything as he laced his fingers around mine, his long fingers callused and rough from having set so many balls as he whispered.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Afterwards, he had fallen dead asleep and at some point, his back had gone against me, his face facing towards the wall as I watched him sleep. Despite all the running about earlier, I was too focused on the fact I was sharing a bed with him, watching him sleep before finally falling asleep.

 

I dreamed of Kageyama standing on the top of the school building, his hands outstretched as he stood at the edge. His face was unreadable as I screamed for him to stop, his hands spreading out as he let himself fall backwards, plummeting to the ground as I reached for him, missing his hand as he fell to the ground before hearing a horrible splat.

 

When I bucked up from bed, I saw that the spot Kageyama had been was now empty, the spot cold from the occupant having left hours ago. I turned to see the clock reading eight in the morning, the morning light streaming from the windows as I slowly got up, the sound of Moija scratching on my door causing me to make my way to it to open it, the small creature jumping into my arms as I scratched his ears.

 

“Hi, my little precious. Have you seen Kageyama?”

 

Moija’s ears dropped as he whimpered, his tongue licking my hand before jumping down to run down the stairs, my heart beating faster as I ran down after him to see a note on the dining table. The door was closed but Kageyama’s shoes were missing from the entryway. Slowly, I picked up the note, my worse fears coming true as I scanned the white paper.

 

“I’m sorry for all the trouble I have caused you and the team. After you decided to take me in, despite me being a horrible person, you accepted me and welcomed me onto the court. For once, I have never felt so welcomed but now, that is all gone. I am sorry for causing you all so much pain and to make sure nothing happens to you all, I hereby resign from Karasuno High School Volleyball Team. Please tell Yamaguchi that I’m sorry and that it is for the best.

 

Thank you for the meal and the night, Oikawa-san. It was the first time I had slept so well after being driven out of my house. I pray you find happiness in the team and lead them to success in nationals.”

 

“Kageyama, you idiot,” I growled as I stuffed the note into my pocket as I grabbed my jacket, not caring I was still in my pajamas and not wearing a bra as I ran out, Moija yipping behind me as I closed the door, my feet carrying me out onto the near empty street as I ran out of the house towards the one place I thought he might be at; his own home.

 

…

 

**Kageyama’s POV**

Kageyama got up as silently as he could, trying to avoid shaking the bed too much as he got out of the bed. Mikasa barely stirred in her sleep, her hand pillowing her head as her brown hair fanned out around her. Kageyama had to stop himself from reaching out to stroke her hair, from telling her he was so sorry for what he was about to do next.

 

_Its for the team. If I don’t do this, I will never clear their name. Besides, I have nothing left for me now._

No more. He couldn’t handle this life anymore. Not when he couldn’t set any more balls on the court, setting for Hinata as he rose to the sky to spike them down, for Tsukishima to block any enemy balls or Yamaguchi having their backs, saving them with his jump float serves.

 

What had he done to deserve such an amazing team like them?

 

Moija whimpered as Kageyama put on his shoes, his hand moving to give the dog a pat on the head as it looked at him with sad eyes, as though it knew what he was going to do. It was said dogs understood the feelings of their owners, knowing if they were about to do something good or something stupid.

 

“Sorry,” he whispered as he gently opened the door and closed it behind him, walking out into the street as the streetlights blinked off as the sun began to set in the horizon. Morning mist covered the streets as he walked down the road and onto the main street, his feet carrying him to the place he had called home for many years. He hadn’t been back for a week now but he knew that if his parents would ever be home, it would be today when they come back in the morning after they come back from Tokyo on business.

 

Kageyama took the key hidden under the carpet outside of the house where his mother had hid in case anyone of them got locked out of the house. Kageyama always had the tendency to forget his keys so he always used this to get inside the house, although his parents didn’t know about it since they were barely at home to begin with. The door yawned open as he poked his head inside, the entryway silent and empty as he slid off his shoes, moving to go to the kitchen where he opened a cabinet containing the antibiotics he always took whenever he had a cold.

 

It was the same antibiotics that got him into trouble all those weeks in the first place when he had taken them and someone had edited it to make it look like doping drugs. If he had been strong, if he hadn’t taken the medicine, he wouldn’t be in this situation right now.

 

_You don’t deserve to be on the team. Someone as talented as you always has what they want! Why can’t they give those who have to actually work their asses out a chance to stand on the court in your place?! The world isn’t fair to people without any talent!_

The words hit him like a brick as he squeezed the glass bottle in his hands, the glass cracking under his fist as he opened the cap, pouring more than ten of the pills into his open palm as he gulped them down, not giving a second thought as he swallowed, the pills making their way towards his stomach as he poured more into his hand.

 

More. He needed more to make it work. Now that he has done it, he couldn’t go back now.

 

The glass bottle shattered as it slipped from his grasp, Kageyama’s heart burning as he clutched the marble floating island counter in the kitchen. He gasped as he ran along it as he stumbled to the stairs, trying to go back to his room when his legs gave way, his body sliding to the bottom of the staircase as he clutched his stomach, the antibiotics doing their work as his mind slowly began to swim.

 

His parents normally came home at seven. Now was ten minutes to seven. If they ever found him by then…

 

Why was he so afraid to die? He wanted to die to badly when he lost everything but at the same time, he felt like he had so much more left to do.

 

“Kageyama,” a voice whispered as Kageyama shut his eyes, his mind swimming before focusing on a scene from the night before, his fingers interlinked with Mikasa’s as she smiled at him in the dark. Why did girls even like him when he was such a horrible person? Why did the cousin of his enemy liked him enough to leave her team?

 

Kageyama’s mind slowly slid out of consciousness as he fell into deep slumber, praying that he never had to wake up again.

 

_I am so sorry._


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're past ten chapters, yay! Hope this chapter isn't too dreary or cheesy, depending on how you see it...

I somehow managed to wander into the most posh neighbourhoods in the area, the houses all double the size of my own and mostly designed in the modern, boxy fashion most of the rich folk opted to have around these areas. The glass window panes that lined the houses were so large I wondered if the residents often had problems having too much sunlight during the summer or having their neighbours able to peek in on them by just looking into the house.

 

I knew Kageyama was rich but I didn’t knew he was this rich.

 

Hinata had gone over to Kageyama’s for sleepovers a few times but he did little to help when it came to directions. I couldn’t blame him thought; the houses looked so identical that he could have been in any one of them. As Yachi went through the list of the players and their personal information, which we thought would never had to come in use, she shrieked as she told me the number of his house.

 

“Number 9,” she said as a smile quirked on my lip despite how grave the situation was right now. To think he was able to wear the number on his back of his own home…

 

As I approached the house, I was greeted with a house devoid of any life or light. There weren’t any cars in the porch but the front door was suspiciously unlocked when I went in, praying I wouldn’t trip any security alarms when my eyes fell on Kageyama’s shoes that were placed in the entryway.

 

“Pardon the intrusion,” I murmured as I quickly pulled off my shoes, my feet pattering on the cold marble floor as I took in the sight of the house. It reminded me of the type of houses celebrities lived in; modern, everything looking straight out of a sci fi movie. The coaches were stark white and the TV was embedded in a wall, sitting on top of a fake fireplace. A fake tiger rug covered the living room floor, a tiny coffee table set on top of it along with a few sweets and a box of tissues that were set on it.

 

Lined up against the wall were pictures of Kageyama at various stages of his life, all of them with him being in a volleyball jersey of sorts. He glared at the camera as they took a picture of him, most of them being him on his own. I caught a few pictures that consisted of him and a team when my eyes fell on the Kitagawa Daiichi junior high team, Kageyama’s eyes sharp and staring straight for the camera, sitting next to Kindaichi who looked like he wanted to squirm away from him if he had the chance.

 

As I turned my focus around the house, I saw a weird shape at the bottom of the staircase. I slowly walked towards it when I caught a glimpse of the word Karasuno gleaming in the darkness, my heart dropping as I fell to my knees to see an unconscious Kageyama. He was so cold when I touched him and it wasn’t just from the fact the house didn’t have any heating on…

 

“Oh no…” I whispered as I flicked on my phone to dial 911. I didn’t know why I didn’t call Yachi or anyone else, but that was the first thing that had come to my mind.

 

“You freaking idiot,” I whispered as the operator picked up the phone.

 

“911. Please state your emergency.”

 

“I think my friend might have tried to kill himself. Please send help quick!”

 

“Calm down miss. Do you see anything that he might have used to do so? Rope, a knife? A medicine bottle?”

 

I slowly set Kageyama down to rush to the kitchen, trying to find the source of it when I came to the shattered medicine bottle on the ground, my hand shaking as I realized what he had done as I told the operator he had overdosed himself.

 

“Is he breathing?”

 

Slowly I put my finger under his nose, my heart calming down just a little when a whiff of air hit my finger as I said yes.

 

“Please wait patiently for help to arrive. Don’t attempt to make him vomit or force him to drink water. Let him lie on his side comfortably enough to breath until we arrive. Can you find the bottle containing the medicine he ingested.”

 

"I have a few shards of it but I can tell what it is."

 

"Alright. Stay calm, miss. We'll be there as soon as we can."

 

When the call ended, I finally allowed myself to sob as I cradled Kageyama’s cold body. Who knew how long if had been since he had done this? If I hadn’t come here, he could have been dead…

 

“Tobio?” a voice called as the door yawned open, light spilling onto us as the sound of a handbag dropping to the ground sounded followed by a wail.

 

“Tobio!” Kageyama’s mother screamed as she rushed to her son, pushing me away so she could cradle her child, screaming hysterically for him to wake up. Kageyama didn’t so much flinch as his mother bawled her head off, hugging him so tight I thought he might die of suffocation as a man, who I presumed to be his father entered the house to see his wife crying over their unconscious son. He looked so much like Kageyama, around the eyes since both of them gave the same death glare, although that had now been replaced with a look of panic and horror.

 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know what to do when I found him like this. I called 911 so they should be here soon,” I stammered as Kageyama’s father walked over to me to pat me on the back as gently as he could.

 

“You’ve done your best. Now, explain what happened to him.”

 

So calm and collected. Now I knew where Kageyama got his calmness to be able to stand in a storm of anxiety on the court where the pressure was always eating away at the players.

 

As I told the story to him, Kageyama’s mother gently cradled her son on her lap, not having budged an inch from the very same spot I had been before as she pushed away a lock of hair from his face. Her cries had reduced to sniffles, her eyes red as she pressed a kiss on her son’s head, her lip wobbling as she turned to her husband.

 

“Ichiro, he’s so cold. Dear, he’s so… cold… our baby boy. Our poor son.”

 

“Reina, the only thing we can do now is wait for the ambulance to arrive.”

 

“Ambulance?! Who’s fault did you think was what drove Tobio to suicide? If you haven’t been so busy making sure your image was preserved in the industry when the scandal was going on and throwing him out of his own home, you think he would have resorted to this?”

 

“I was trying to protect him! You saw how the press swarmed our house for the first week of the scandal! I was so stressed about having to deal with this…”

 

“And you decided the best way was to get rid of the source? What kind of stupid reason is that?! He’s your son!”

  
  
“Tobio has always been too focused on volleyball to figure out what to do with his life! He’s grades aren’t good! He can barely keep talk with anyone! If he had nothing left on the court, he was a nobody in the outside world! I told him he shouldn't focus so much on something that could be taken away in a blink of an eye!”

 

“That’s why we should be there for him! We should have been there for him when he was in need, not ripping him away from us! Ichiro… you… you killed our son!” she screamed as her husband gripped the wall he was leaning against, his face so thunderous I thought he might be able to call upon the heavens for lightning. His hand slowly slid to his side as he walked over to his family, his hands gently wrapping themselves around his wife before prying her away from their son as he began to cry.

 

“Forgive me, son. Forgive me,” he whispered as his wife broke down into more tears, their crying nearly sending me tumbling into a abyss as I heard the sound of the ambulance siren filling the air. When the medics came in, one of them quirked an eyebrow as though they recognised Kageyama, although they had the brains to not poke around the matter as they loaded him onto a stretcher to bring him into the ambulance.

 

“I’m sorry sir, madam, but we can only let one person on the ambulance,” the paramedic said as Kageyama’s parents tried to get onto the ambulance. The paramedics had hooked several wires on Kageyama’s body, his chest barely rising and falling in the stark lighting of the ambulance as Kageyama’s mother turned to me.

 

“Dear, follow them. We’ll follow in a car.”

 

…

 

The trip to the hospital was intense. We were swinging through traffic at 100km per hour, the wail of the siren piercing my ears as I watched Kageyama rattling in the stretcher, his eyes closed as the paramedics checked his heartrate.

 

“You’re fortunate you found him early on miss. If left for an hour of more, he could have died,” he murmured as he leaned back in his seat. He looked like he wanted to press more about Kageyama but elected to stay silent as we finally arrived at the hospital, the man getting down as the doors opened to wheel Kageyama out. I ran after them, my hand holding onto my thin jacket as I pulled out my phone, dialing in Yachi’s number as she picked up on the second ring.

 

“He overdosed?!” she shrieked as I nodded.

 

“They’re with him in the emergency room now. I think they’re going to try and pump out all the drugs out of him, although it might destroy his stomach.”

 

We had reached one of the rooms, the nurses taking over as they wheeled Kageyama into the room. The paramedic stopped me as I tried to enter with them, stating I shouldn’t be there to watch what they were about to do.

 

“I’m sorry you found your boyfriend like that. I knew Kageyama Tobio looked really scary and had been known to be someone with a pretty bad temper and attitude, but to think even he found some love,” he sighed as I tried not to hit him across the face. Now wasn’t the time to insult someone when they could be on the brink of death!

 

“He’s not my boyfriend. I’m just the manager,” I murmured as I was left alone, the paramedic having been called off for another trip in the ambulance. I slumped into an empty seat, the hospital pretty empty for it being early on a Saturday morning. I slowly felt all the adrenaline rush out of my body as I slumped against the seat, my body too tense to even shed a tear for what had happened.

 

How could I not cry at a time like this?

 

Kageyama’s parents… even his father had broken down like that. I can’t imagine what they must be doing in the car right now, screaming as they blamed one another for what happened to their son. I wouldn’t be shocked if they separated at the end of it, especially if Kageyama didn’t make it through…

 

No. He will live. He had to.

 

Not long ago, his hand had been warm against him, his breath soft as he slept, his body facing me as I watched him in the dark, wishing I could trace circles along his back. How could I think of my stupid crush for him when he could be dying in there?

 

I slowly picked up my phone and opened the group chat, my finger moving to type out the message as I prayed that Kageyama can still be saved.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be fair, I didn't expect this chapter to play out like this but oh well. Just realised since Kageyama is in his third year and most of the players from nationals are in their second year at least, most of them would have already graduated and left the team so technically anyone on the team now is an OC.

“Ah. How I would love to be standing here two years ago under different circumstances,” Oikawa sighed as he and Ushijima stood in front of the gym used as the training grounds of the under 19 Japan youth team. While he wasn’t glad to be with Ushijima right now, he was glad that if someone had to be stern with the idiot who got Kageyama into the mess he was now, he hated to admit but Ushijima was the right guy.

 

As they entered, some of the players gathered stared with their jaws dropped before dropping into low bows, some of them nearly dropping to grovel before their feet as Oikawa stared straight ahead of him. They weren’t ogling him, they were looking at Ushijima, who had been confirmed a place on the team to represent their country in the 2020 Olympics held in Tokyo. Although someone might recognized him since he was quite prominent in the world of university volleyball.

 

“Ushijima-senpai! What brings you here?” a voice squeaked as a boy came out of the gym, his eyes wide as he stared at the six footer volleyball player in front of him. His hands were starting to sweat as his gaze turned to Oikawa, who had a sneer playing on his lips that would make anyone begin to panic as he gave a wave to him.

 

“Hey, we’re looking for a guy by the name of Arataka Hayate. We would like a little chat with him,” he grinned as the boy nodded.

 

“Yes, Arataka. Right. Arataka! You have visitors!” he called as he ran back into the gym, not waiting to see Oikawa looking stunned at how he had reacted so quickly to his request as Ushijima eyed the boy turning to look at them from within the gym.

 

While he had the air of a powerful volleyball player, he also looked like someone who was a bit too cocky for their own good and would use anything to eliminate those who stood in their way. Somewhat like Oikawa himself, he hated to admit but he wasn’t too bad right? At least he had good style and looks.

 

Dark eyes stared at them as their owner walked towards them, his body clad in the uniform of the under 19 Japan youth team. Oikawa tried his best not to grab him just to get a feel of the jacket he wore, the flag of Japan stitched on his right breast along with his name on it. How long had he yearned to wear one of these, even if it meant breaking himself to pieces but then again, he had finally managed to be so close to that stage, provided his leg didn’t give out first.

 

“Ushijima-senpai. A pleasure to see you once again. Thank you for your hard work in bringing the team forward in their future fight in the Olympics,” Arataka said as he bowed low, although Oikawa had a feeling he wasn’t doing it out of admiration. He turned his gaze to Oikawa, a nasty smile playing on his lips as Oikawa did his best not to pull one of his own facial gestures as Ushijima jerked his head to the changing rooms.

 

Arataka didn’t even question it when they locked the door behind them, Oikawa standing against it with his arms crossed as Ushijima towered above Arataka. The boy was in his final year of high school in one of the top powerhouse volleyball schools in Japan and en route to being on their team should he make it out of this little meeting unscathed. Oikawa thought he would be somewhat of a hindrance on the team; he would be spending more time watching out for his back in case the boy ever backstabbed him to get his way.

 

“You know why we’re here,” Ushijima said as Arataka shrugged.

 

“Come on. Practice starts in 10 minutes. As much as I want to chat with the future Olympic team, I have to go and train.”

 

Gone were all the politeness he had not long ago, everything replaced with an aura of menace.

 

“Spit it out. We know you were the one who framed Kageyama for the doping scandal,” Oikawa snapped as Arataka laughed, “And why would I do that?”

 

“Half a year ago, Matsuoka Haruka, a fellow teammate of yours from Akatsuki Academy was injured during a practice match. His injury prevented him from ever allowing him to play volleyball again, causing him to lose his place on the team. Some people have reported your disdain towards Kageyama, blaming him for having Matsuoka kicked out of the team, stating that he had set the ball too far and caused him to injure himself,” Ushijima said as Oikawa sneered.

 

“I know Tobio-chan. He never, ever misses a toss. He will never toss out of bounds, nor at such an angle that would cause someone to hurt themselves so badly. What we also found was that Matsuoka always had a knee injury. It was just that during that accident, it was enough to cause permanent damage to the knee.”

 

His own knee seemed to sting at his words since his knee was in the very same situation as Matsuoka’s had been; Matsuoka’s had blown up earlier than his. That was all.

 

“Kageyama. Kageyama. Everything is always about Kageyama. Everyone always has faith in that stupid idiot. Do they know how its like to be someone who had to work their way all the way to the top only to get smashed down by someone of pure talent? To be ripped away from the court because of an injury? Don’t screw around with me, you talented assholes!” Arataka shouted as he slammed a hand into a locker, the metal denting inwards as he snarled.

 

“Matsuoka worked so hard to get to the top. He had nothing, coming from a torn apart family as a child and having to work his way up the social ladder. When he found volleyball, it was the only place he could find solace from his screwed up world and when he got his scholarship to Akatsuki Academy to play volleyball, he thought he finally had a shot in life. He told me we would always be together on the court, always there to save a ball I dropped or for me to guard his back. We were unbeatable, inseparable. Then both of us finally landed our dreams of getting onto the under 19 Japan Youth Team.

 

Then Kageyama showed up. All airs, not having a single worry on the court since he had basically already conquered it. He never asked us how to improve his tossing, always tossing so quickly we could never match him. Sure, the others who had no complaints about it since they were talented enough to catch up but me and Matsuoka, we could barely stand it whenever one of his tosses comes our way. But Matsuoka never gave up or complained, always with a smile on his face, even as his world was ripped apart.

 

When he was told he could never play volleyball again, he didn’t scream in rage. Instead, he just cried softly and said he just had to try his luck at something else. His sports scholarship was taken from him, he lost his sports recommendation to Tokyo Sports University, he even has to deal with a limp for the rest of his life. All because of a setter who doesn’t know how to read the feelings of his teammates and toss the ball for them instead of himself. One month later, he killed himself, throwing himself over this very building where everything began and ended for him.”

 

Oikawa recalled the news of someone jumping off the building but he never did remember the name of the boy who died, only that he had played volleyball. Thinking now of how he had passed through life without aim, from a shitty start to a shitty ending, Oikawa was now grateful that he had managed to remain on the court for this long despite his recklessness.

 

“I will never forgive Kageyama for what he did. What he did should be punishable by something worse than death. Death is just something he could turn to when he wants an easy way out so I thought I play a little game with him. All I had to do was a little video tweaking and boom, the internet and the damn world of volleyball lapped up those stupid lies like a bunch of fools! I just left the world to tear him down for me and look how far he has fallen,” Arataka laughed as he clutched his sides, cackling as he threw his head back to laugh even more. He looked like he had finally snapped for real, the smile on his face one of someone who had no remorse for sending someone to their grave.

 

“You know what you have done is enough to kick you off the team and ruin your career as a player,” Ushijima said as Arataka snickered, “Oh, you think I give a shit for a team that only wants talented stars on their team and doesn’t care for those who are weak? Well, I don’t have to bother about that much longer.”

Oikawa yelled as Arataka whipped a knife from inside his jacket, a mad glint in his eyes as he placed it to the right of his stomach, the tip already cutting through the fabric as he yelled, “At least now I can join Matsuoka and Kageyama in hell!”  
  


Oikawa lunged as Ushijima leaped in, both of them wrangling the boy to the ground as he missed his mark, his knife plunging into Oikawa’s arm. Oikawa howled as blood began to pour from his wound as they slammed into the benches, Arataka’s head colliding with the corner of the bench. That wasn’t enough to knock him out as Ushijima grabbed his hands, the door jingling as people from the outside tried to get it open as Arataka yelled, “Come on! Throw me into prison! Do whatever you want to me! I’m already bound for hell and I’m ready to die for it!”

 

“Dying isn’t the solution. Its just the cowards way of trying to run away from everything in their life,” Ushijima said as the door finally slammed off its hinges, players streaming into the room as security flooded in, grabbing Arataka by the shoulders and forcing him to his feet, the boy laughing as he screamed to the crowd.

 

“I pray I meet Kageyama in hell like he deserves to be!” he screamed as he was hauled away, the coaches staring at him before being shaken out of their thoughts when someone coughed from nearby.

 

“Excuse me, but I think Oikawa-san there is bleeding pretty bad,” the player Ushijima had spoken to earlier said as he stepped into the room to hoist Oikawa to his feet despite being nearly a head shorter than him. The university student grunted as Ushijima moved to swing Oikawa into his arms, much to his shock and changrain.

 

“Your arm is injured. It would be foolish to support yourself against two people,” he grunted as Oikawa groaned, trying to cover his face from the fact he was being carried bridal style by his rival as he turned red. The others players were scrambling to call for help as Oikawa heard a ding in his pocket.

 

He would have to answer it later. Now, he needed to make sure his arm wasn’t screwed up in time for the interuniversity volleyball games.  


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Truth be told, writing about this has made me think of my own experiences trying to run away from life and what I have done to get it. How I wanted to just blink out of existance and run away from the commitments and trials of life but people always tell me one thing; how would the ones who are left behind feel if you go?
> 
> No offense but sometimes I wonder if I am actually living for myself? If I am, I wouldn't be forcing myself to stay alive just so others won't be sad if I go. If I had it my way, I would just run way from it all and end it all in a single shot.
> 
> Unfortunately, life isn't like that so I just have to suck it up and live on.
> 
> Random note: If SAO is real, I rather be in SAO because one day I will die in the real world anyway and SAO is full of awesome graphics, design and hot characters so heck, why not.

“Kageyama! Kageyama, wake up, dammit!” Nishinoya yelled as Tanaka held him back, trying to explain hitting the unconscious setter in the chest wasn’t going to help until Daichi finally dragged them out of the room for Kageyama’s parents to have some space with their son. Suga had to make sure Daichi didn’t give the two boys new lumps on their heads as I closed the door behind us, me still dressed in my night clothes as I shivered in the cold hospital. Shit, I should at least have worn some socks.

 

“I’m sorry, but can you please keep it down? Its still rather early in the morning to make noise. I know you must be concerned for your senior, but please refrain from trying to hit him or shout,” the doctor said as Nishinoya seemed to shrink a little. No one was in the mood to laugh at the recurring pun of Nishinoya and Hinata often being thought to be grade schoolers or middle schoolers since they were so small now that Kageyama is sitting right at the doors of death.

 

“Is he going to be ok?” I blurted as the doctor sighed.

 

“We managed to pump out everything out of his system in time so he’s resting now. He might not be able to eat anything solid for a while but he will be able to get back to his training in a week or so. Don’t worry, I’ve been an avid Karasuno team supporter since you guys nearly won nationals those years ago so I won’t let one of your teammates go down,” he said as Yamaguchi bowed low, followed by everyone as we shouted, “Thank you for your support and saving our teammate!”

 

The doctor rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to bow to each of us as the surrounding nurses and patients grinned at the sight, some of them quirking eyebrows as they recognized some of us who happened to be wearing the volleyball team jacket. The doctor went back into the room to check on Kageyama as we slumped into the long row of seats, all of us letting out a unified sigh before slipping into silence, the only thing filling the hallways was the sound of rubber shoes and the smell of medication.

 

“Since Kageyama won’t be waking up for a while now, how about we get some food to reenergize ourselves? We can go to the school for a practice game while waiting for the news on Kageyama’s recovery, just the old team like old times,” Yamaguchi suggested as Suga patted him on the head, a large grin on his face as he said, “My baby has grown up. Alright, let’s not mope around and let’s get hustling! Kageyama won’t be any better if we sit here waiting like idiots.”

 

Slowly everyone stood up and walked away, leaving me, Hinata and Yachi to stay behind as we waited for the news. Hinata wouldn’t leave his partner in crime on the court and Yachi was worried about her boyfriend doing something stupid. After waiting for nearly an hour, I got a phonecall from Tooru, my finger jabbing on the screen so hard I might have cracked the screen as Tooru told me some suprising news.

 

“And you went in and told him to confess just like that? He didn’t even resist?”

 

“He did nick me with a knife so I’ll be out of practice for the next week. Coach told me to go and rest but since it’s the weekend, I’m going to come home to visit my family. How’s Tobio-chan doing?”

 

“He tried to kill himself.”

 

Tooru’s gasp filled the phone until he finally regained his composure as I heard the sound of the doors of the train opening.

 

“I’m going straight to the hospital. Don’t you dare to move your butt from your spot.”

 

I hung up just as the doors opened and Kageyama’s parents came out, his mother looking as though she had spent quite a bit of time yelling at her husband in the car while Kageyama’s father had a scowl so bad that I thought Kageyama’s scowls were meant to be smiles compared to his. The three of us stood up and bowed to them as they did the same.

 

“Mikasa-san, was it?” Kageyama’s mother asked as I looked up, her eyes brimming with tears as she bowed to the waist, nearly making me trip over my feet as her husband did the same.

 

“We don’t know what would have happened to Tobio if you haven’t found him. If you hadn’t come and checked on him, he might have…” she didn’t finished her sentence as she threatened to break down into tears. Her husband’s mouth twitched as he tried to say the words, stumbling over them the way his son does whenever he tried to be nice.

 

“Tha.. nk… thunk… thank… you…” he blurted as I had the mental image of Kageyama telling Hinata ‘nice’ at one point during a match. Kageyama… he was so cute when he tried to be nice.

 

“Is he awake yet?” Hinata asked as Kageyama’s mother shook her head.

 

“The medicine will be in effect for a while. How about you go have something to eat with us while we wait for him to wake up. The doctor said he might take the full day to recover,” she smiled as she gently led us down the hall, Kageyama’s father trailing behind us looking very awkward. I had read many of his interviews but didn’t much cast a glance at his picture but the way he walked, the dangerous aura rising from him, it was like when Kageyama was trying to look cool but ended up looking very hostile.

 

After a very awkward breakfast of really nasty bento with cold fish, I found myself wandering back to Kageyama’s room, his body still on the bed as the machine showed his vital signs. The constant sound of beeping filled the room as I sat in the chair next to his bed, reaching to hold his hand. He felt so cold under my touch as I prayed for once for the gods to answer my prayers when someone came up from behind me.

 

After playing volleyball and having to sense and watch out for stray rogue volleyball, I’ve become accustomed to sensing people behind me.

 

“I didn’t mean for this to happen to Tobio. I was just trying to protect him,” Kageyama’s father murmured as he stood a few feet away from me as though being able to tell I might just pummel him if he got to close.

 

 _“Well you were the idiot who threw him out of the house and made him become like this. He might have been neglected by you for all I know when he was younger which made him so socially awkward!”_ I screamed to myself as I held my tongue.

 

“Tobio was an unexpected child. He was born when my career was just beginning and I was too busy building up my business to pay attention to him. I let him play volleyball since I heard that since you have to work in a team, he may be able to find some company and friends on the court but it seems like while he managed to find his talent and passion, it also led him to being isolated. When this case happened, I was so stressed and angered at how he had jeopardized his own position along with his mothers and my own. I thought for myself at that moment and threw him out when he needed us most and look how that turned out.”

 

His voiced choked as I tried not to swivel around. Watching a grown man cry wasn’t the best thing on earth to do, even when you wanted him to scream and cry for putting his son through so much pain and hell. The only thing I felt at that moment was pity for him.

 

“Oikawa-san. Mikasa. Thank you for staying by my son’s side this whole time!” he roared as I turned to see him bowing so low it looked like he could actually break his back. His face was covered with tear tracks as he sobbed, his hands gripping his pants as I opened my mouth to tell him a grown man shouldn’t be saying things like that to a high schooler.

 

“I will gladly accept you into our family. Once this is over, I’m going to make sure Tobio gets a good lecture on how to treat a woman who may carry the name of the family in the future,” he said as I turned bright red.

 

“Ojisan, I’m not his girlfriend. He’s just a teammate and I’m the manager,” I blurted as Kageyama’s father turned red in the face too, his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish as I got up and bowed to him.

 

“Thank you for bringing Kageyama into this world. He may be a bit terrible at communication at times, but he’s a good guy,” I smiled as I turned to face Kageyama, his eyes still closed as Kageyama’s father looked ready to cry when I heard a familiar voice outside and the door slid open just in time for me to see Tooru nearly dropping a getwell card into his pocket.

 

“Mikasa, you’re still here,” he blurted as Kageyama’s father eyed him before looking at me.

 

“Uh, is he your…” he asked as Tooru grinned as best as he could.

 

“Good morning, Ojisan. I’m Oikawa Tooru, Mikasa-san’s cousin and Tobio’s former teammate in Kitagawa Daiichi,” he said as Kageyama’s father gave a bow to him before leaving us, Tooru moving to Kageyama’s bed to quickly whip out the card and chuck it on the bedside table.

 

“Tobio, you moron. I knew you were an idiot but I never knew you were that much of an idiot.”

 

He took his place in the chair I had occupied earlier, his glasses slightly foggy from having been outdoors as he gripped the sheets on the bed, scrounging them up as he hissed.

 

“I didn’t let you beat me on the court for you to wink out just like that. You hear me, Tobio-chan?! Your life is just beginning for you as a player and as a man. If you are too stupid and dense to even guess, as you probably are at the moment, you would realize people around you care for you much more than you think. Not only that but someone actually cares for you in a whole new level for so many years, I don’t even know how she could stay so dedicated to an idiot like you for this long, baka.”

 

I wanted to reach out and grab Tooru by the collar and shake him like a ragdoll for telling an unconscious Tobio about my feelings. They did say a person can hear what others are saying even though they are unconscious.

 

“If you ever hurt yourself again or Mikasa, I swear me and Iwa-chan are going to have a hell of a time with you,” he hissed as he stood up, putting his hands in his pockets as he turned to go to the door before turning to look at me.

 

“Mikasa-chan, for crying out loud, after all of this, you better say something to that idiot,” he said, sticking out his tongue before opening the door and closing it as I heard the words “Grand-king” being shouted by HInata outside as I took my place by Tobio’s side once more.

 

…

 

**Tobio’s POV**

 

I floated in nothingness, not knowing what to expect as I reached out into the darkness. I felt like I had done something stupid and was now paying the price for it as I sank deeper into the depths of darkness.

 

“Tobio! Babe, please, wake up!” my mother’s voice floated through my mind before turning to my father.

 

“You caused this! If you hadn’t kicked him out of the house Tobio wouldn’t have done this!”

 

“I was just trying to get him away from the attention of the press!”  
  


“And for what?! At what cost?! For your reputation?!”

 

Mum, dad, please, don’t fight anymore. I pray that I have given you a bit of peace now that I am… wait, am I dying?

 

“Kageyama!” Nishinoya’s voice came next as I could almost feel something being shaken quite rapidly before it stopped. I can imagine Nishinoya trying to shake me awake in the real world.

 

Maybe I should just drift away and close my eyes, letting myself get the rest and solitude I wished for so long.

 

But haven’t I yearned to be heard and be with others for so long?

 

_“Your tosses are crazy! How do you expect us to keep up with i?!”_

_“King of the court. As powerful as you are, you are too selfish to work with.”_

_“Kageyama, on the bench, now.”_

_“I will never apologise to you, nor would I accept your apology!”_

_“Kageyama, please! Don’t go!”_

_The last voice cut through my mind brought a certain face into my foggy mind, followed by a certain ball of sunshine, his orange head blazing orange, as bright as the sun he was named after with a smirk on his face._

_“Toss here!” Hinata yelled as Yachi’s voice followed, “Kageyama!”_

_“Kageyama, you’re part of the team now!” Daichi grinned as he came into focus, Sugawara’s face following next as he gave me a smile, standing at the door of the gym as he removed his shoes. It was the day he and Tanaka had allowed me and Hinata to sneak into the gym for practice._

_“Ora, focus now Kageyama!” Tanaka yelled followed by Nishinoya’s, “Rolling Thunder!”_

_“Kageyama, gambatte,” Shimizu-senpai smiled as Ennoshita placed a hand on my shoulder._

_“Kageyama, don’t die!” Asahi yelped as Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei looked on at the team with pride._

_“No more are we the fallen crows. By mixing together various different colours, you come out with a single colour; black.”_

_“Kageyama, don’t go!” a final voice cut through my mind as a girl stood before me, her brown hair flying behind her as she smiled, her hand reaching out as she said, “Come, let’s go home.”_

_“Oikawa-san,” I whispered as I reached to take her hand, feeling her pull me out of this nightmare realm as the light hit my eyes._

The sound of a machine beeping filled my ears as I groaned, shifting in what appeared to be a bed as I slowly opened my eyes, my arms stiff as I turned to see wires snaking around my body. The lights were so bright that I thought my eyes would melt as I tried to lift my right arm to shield them when I heard a cry.

 

“Kageyama!” Mikasa shrieked as she barreled into me, nearly slamming my head into the headrest of the bed as she apologized before straightening herself.

 

“You idiot. You freaking idiot! Why did you do that to yourself?!” she shrieked as I remembered everything I did. Running away from her side, opening the bottle and emptying its contents into my mouth, the nausea I felt as I collapsed to the ground.

 

I almost died.

 

Before I could open my mouth, I heard my stomach let out a big growl as the worried look on Mikasa’s face was replaced with one of relief as I slowly reached to hold my stomach.

 

“Hungry,” I murmured as Mikasa smiled. I felt like she had been the angel to pull me out of the depths of hell and returned me to heaven, always being by my side when things had gone bad.

 

“Welcome home, Kageyama,” she smiled as I tried to smile, praying what was produced wasn’t one of the sneers Hinata always said I had when I did try to smile.

 

“I’m back.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a chapter update but bear with me. Just want to explain why this story is being updated at really irregular intervals or even being updated at all after being on for so long.

These few months have been a really hard challenge for me as a fanfiction writer and a writer. I thought that maybe since it was summer holidays, I might try and write a few ideas I had in my mind, which was why I pushed aside this story for such a long time but I promise you, I will get back to it!

 

While trying to write, I've been able to produce some original work which I am happy of and I sent them off to publishers in hopes that maybe they might get released or even liked by them. Instead, I was met with some really hurtful and dimoralising comments that made me question my worth as a writer. Being told to write in a more sophisticated manner, changing my writing style or that the genre wasn't even good enough, I thought that maybe if I tried harder, I could do it. After two months, I was filled with sadness and degradation after all the rejections happened.

 

One manuscript was rejected in 1 week.

 

Another was rejected in 4 days; actually two days if you don't count the weekends.

 

This was surpassed by one that was rejected in 36 minutes.

 

I know writing isn't an easy thing to do but to be rejected by even small companies who give you realistic yet hurtful comments was very disheartening and I left writing original content for a while to return to the world that helped me through troubled times in expressing msyelf through the eyes of the characters from anime I hold dear : fanfiction.

 

Thank you so much for being with me all this time and reading my stories. Even if you hit the button but don't get past the first paragprah, I am honoured that you chose to read my story and give me a chance to tell a tale I wish to tell to everyone.

 

Until then, stay tuned for the next chapter. 

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At long last and a lot of procrastination, this story has come to an end. It wasn't as exciting or crazy as I expected but for those of you who have managed to read it this far, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking around this story.
> 
> Writing this story made me push myself as a fanfiction writer and trying to get back my love for writing. While writing this story, I felt that if I could just make even one person's day better with this, I feel like that would be the best feeling ever. I'm not a good romance writer but I hope this is as cute and fluffy as it could get.
> 
> Thank you for reading this story. Now, sit back and enjoy the final chapter of 'Lies and deceit'.

There is a high wall in front of us.

 

A high, tall wall.

 

Can we ever get to see the view over the top?

 

Not alone that is.

 

“And setter Kageyama Tobio rises to toss the ball to his partner on the court, Hinata Shouyou! And he spikes, the ball goes past the wall of 190cm blockers. Hinata Shouyou is truly a Little Giant on the Court, breaking past opponents 20cm taller than him.”

 

The whistle blows as Kageyama and Hinata clenched their fists, their lips wobbling as someone finally yelled the words they have been yearning to hear for so long.

 

“We won!” Yamaguchi screamed as he barreled into Tsukishima, who as salty as he was even had tears streaming down from his eyes as he held onto his best friend. Kageyama and Hinata stood speechless before turning to one another, arms spread out as they held onto each other, screaming and wailing as they celebrated their victory. Okita was sobbing on the floor, Uechi holding him as he tried not to flood the court as the opponents across them crashed onto the floor in defeat.

 

At long last, Karasuno has climbed to the top of the ladder to be the best school in Japan.

 

“You see that?! That’s my little brother!” Akiteru screamed as he shook his girlfriend, who happened to be Tanaka’s older sister, Saeko-neesan so hard she nearly lost her eyeballs as her brother ripped his shirt to shreds and hollered his school’s name. Nishinoya was shouting as well as Sugawara screamed, “That’s my kids!”

 

Daichi was sobbing into Asahi as both of them clung onto each other, Shimizu trying to stop her boyfriend from leaping off the first floor while trying to hold back her tears. Ennoshita wiped away a few stray tears before moving into the cheer pose he always did when his team went onto the court. Karasuno’s cheer team were screaming so loud dust fell from the ceiling as the school celebrated their victory.

 

“I… can’t believe it,” I whispered as Yachi barreled into me, sobbing hard as we bounced on our feet, sobbing and wailing as the boys huddled around us, smelling of sweat, Salonpas and victory.

 

“Come on! Let’s go greet them!” Hinata yelled as Yachi pulled him into an embrace and kissed him full on the mouth, earning yells and claps from the crowd as Hinata pulled her into him. I was trying to hide the smirk on my face when Kageyama turned to my direction, his eyes locking onto mine for just a second before breaking away, a blush creeping up my cheeks as a wailing Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai herded us to the makeshift stage in the middle of the court.

 

One by one, we lined up in a row as the lights shone above us. After a crazy year, Kageyama had been cleared of any accusations and was let back onto the team, coming back at full force considering he hadn’t been able to play volleyball for a long time from the ban. Arataka was kicked off the team and banned from the sport for life, the boy disappearing from the face of the earth afterwards. When news of him did resurface when Kageyama had tried to approach him to clear things out, he was greeted with the news that his former teammate had killed himself just like he did by hanging and his family had moved away due to the shame of the scandal and the suicide.

 

I had accompanied Kageyama for the visit to the tiny prefecture of Iwatobi, the town surrounded by a large sea glistening in the sun. If I wasn’t mistaken, this was home to a few international swimmers who reached the summit through teamwork and friendships that went through hell and back. One of them had even gone on to represent Australia and was neck to neck with a Japanese swimmer when both of them hit the wall at the same time and won first place, the first time in Olympic history.

 

The family grave was situated on a cliffside overlooking the sea, the wind hitting salt water into my face as me and Kageyama clapped out hands together. The incense mixed with the salty air as the tiny bunch of flowers we had brought with us threatened to be blown away by the wind as Kageyama murmured, “Sorry I didn’t understand you and for hurting Matsuoka like that. I promise I won’t repeat this mistake again.”

 

As he bowed in prayer, the only thing I could think of was that Matsuoka and Arataka were finally free to be who they wanted to be, playing volleyball to their hearts desire somewhere up there in the afterlife.

 

After Arataka had been kicked off the team, Hinata had been brought in as his replacement much to Kageyama’s happiness and Hinata’s since he was finally one step closer to being on the international stage. With the Olympics around the corner, he was now on the road to be playing on the team made of friends made on the court across the years. Kuroo and Tsukishima had been brought in as blockers while Ushijima and Bokuto made up the ace power of the team. Kageyama and Oikawa were the setters of the team, both of them playing equally on the court while Hinata, well, he was a brand of his own.

 

“Hey hey hey! That’s my chibi!” Bokuto hooted as Akaashi smiled from the crowd. Kuroo and Kenma were making cat faces as Ushijima nodded with approval. Even Tooru couldn’t help but smile and give a thumbs up to us from the crowd, finally having gotten over his bitter rivalry with Tobio now that both of them were on the same team. Iwaizumi nodded with a grin as the cheers rose from the crowd, the light shining on us as we were awarded medals.

 

Holding the medal in my hand made me feel everything we’ve been through as a team was worth it through and through.

 

“Congratulations, Karasuno High School for winning the Spring Interhigh National Volleyball Tournament,” the president of the volleyball association said as everyone bowed low, the Karasuno cheer team screaming and clapping as we huddled into a group, not caring that we looked absolutely nasty for the camera with how blotched and sweaty we were after such a crazy game as Yamaguchi shouted.

 

“Karasuno, fight!”

 

“FIGHT!!!” we yelled as one, our voices bouncing off the walls as we headed out into the outside world, me turning back to the court I will finally leave behind once I graduate from high school.

 

While Kageyama, Tsukishima and Hinata were now on the Olympic team, the rest of us have to go our separate ways. I was going to school in Tokyo as a physiotherapist while Kageyama and Hinata were headed to the same sports university Ushijima and Tooru were at. I could imagine how Tooru would have to stop himself from trying to choke Kageyama whenever he saw him on the court now that he was on his team both in university and on the international stage.

 

“Come one! All you can eat BBQ tonight!” Coach Ukai shouted.

 

“Oniki niku niku oniku niku! Awasate oniku oniku! Oniku niku! Oniku banzai, genki byakumai! Wohoo, hallelujah, hallelujah! Oniku kamisama! Oniku kamisama!” the boys chanted as we headed towards the hotel, the sun setting behind the high rise buildings of Tokyo as I shivered in the cold when I felt something drape over my shoulders.

 

“Here,” Kageyama murmured as I nodded, holding his jacket over me as we walked down the road in silence, the Karasuno group still chanting the Meat if God song as I looked back to the crazy year we had had.

 

“You’re going to Tokyo for school right?” he asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Nice.”

 

“Yes. Nice.”

 

There was a ring of cheers as we finally reached the restaurant, the team ready to raid the place as they drooled onto the snow. Hinata and Yachi were holding hands as they leaned into each other, both me and Kageyama standing a few awkward feet apart from each other when Tsukishima drawled.

 

“Hey King! Aren’t you forgetting something?”

 

Kageyama flushed red as he whirled around 360 degrees trying to reach into his pocket to pull out a letter, his face red from both the cold and embarrassment as he knelt on one knee, his eyes flashing as I tried to stop myself from fainting.

 

“Oikawa-san… will you.. guh… gah… goo… out with me?! Please do!” he yelled as the team stood in silence so bad I thought if a needle dropped, we could actually hear it when a familiar voice called out from behind him.

 

“Well boohoo. My beloved kohai has finally become a man. You better make sure you treat my cousin well,” Tooru hissed as Iwaizumi slapped him on the back of the head as Kuroo and Kenma walked over, Kenma bundled up in so many layers I wondered how he even walked. Bokuto was as crazy as ever, only wearing his Fukurodani jacket while Akaashi had wisely put on a nice grey coat and jeans along with earmuffs. Ushijima had elected to wear his Japan team jacket, much to the chagrin of some of the members present.

 

Kageyama looked at me, his eyes reminding me of a puppy’s as I said, “Yes.”

 

“What?”

 

“I said yes, you baka!” I shrieked as he stood up to hug me tight, my heart stopping from the shock of it as he buried his head into my shoulder.

 

“Thank you for everything. I promise you, I will treasure you for life.”

 

“Now now, let’s go eat! We have a victory to celebrate!” Coach Ukai roared as everyone flooded into the restaurant, leaving me and Kageyama standing in the snow as the wind whipped around us. Slowly the streetlights began to turn on one by one, lighting us as Kageyama held out his hand, his face red as he said, “Do you mind holding my hand?”

 

“No I don’t,” I grinned as I grabbed him, pulling him into the restaurant where all hell had broken lose from the Karasuno team invading its premises.

 

…

 

_Dear Mikasa_

_After everything that has happened this year, or for the past few years in fact, I have always felt that you were watching out for me. Even when you were in the girls team playing volleyball, I could sense that your mind wasn’t on the game in your gym, but rather where I was._

_I didn’t feel like I deserve you. I didn’t know the feeling when you came to the boys team as the manager. I didn’t know if it was gratitude for someone coming to help us, admiration for finally being able to leave the sport you loved so much, or if it was love. The love I had from my parents wasn’t something I had experienced well enough to know I was actually feeling it towards someone else and my father.. you know how he’s like. I feared that if I ever got together with you, I might end up hurting you the way he did._

_I don’t know if you want to accept someone as awkward or scowls like me. If there is one thing I love more than volleyball… its you._

_So please accept this love letter dammit!_

_Kageyama Tobio_

My heart beat against my chest as I held the paper to my chest, Yachi’s soft snored next to me as I lay back in my futon, watching as the snow fell from the sky outside, painting the world a beautiful white.

 

Once upon a time, I thought I would be a player on the court, breaking down the walls with my team.

 

Now, I stood alongside the giants on the court, the crows who had risen from the grave alongside the King of the Court.

 

Kageyama Tobio, thank you for showing me the view on the other side of the wall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ave atque vale and until we meet again, sayonara.


End file.
